revelations

 

I
a miracle:
you are more beautiful at twenty-
five than sixteen

II
laundry on a summer day, the high blue
sky, the wet sheets heavy, unmanageable,

III
I am making the bed,
tossing the sheet,
smooth the corners, the
hospital tuck, pillow,
pillow, blanket

IV
the next time I check
there’s another hole,
beneath the left atrium,
staring back at me

V
buy a gun. buy a big gun,
that makes your hand feel
important, that makes your
heart leap every time
you touch

VI
there is an art to loss,
words you must never use,
you must never scream, fall to the floor in animal
grief, gnaw your hand free of the wrist,
leave your heart in the grave-dirt