if the body was not won quite yet, it was one.
separate for so long, the years too slow to count:
of too few fruits, the beginning and end of everything
collapsed in the interminable middle.
so strive to feel, be as kind as you are able.
leave the glass of wine unfinished, subway stare to space.
learn to sleep with the lights on.
wear striped shirts, buy broaches.
look to the lights across the river at night.
watch baseball games alone, hot summer air.
unfinished books, what is written and unwritten.
shyly talk to neighbors in the lobby, what are your plans?
get letters. pet the cat.
pretend to care. climb stairs and hope for better.
pray like it is insurance, rainy days.
remember Cain and Abel.
hold doors, hope they are held for you.
scrub sweat and smile.
walk to the bottom of the island, take the train back.
phone calls to friends at night in the park, fireflies.
the heat that wanes with the dusk.
some kind of peace.
…
© 2019 Anna-Christina Betekhtin, All Rights Reserved.
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