the postman gets a wave
trash guy a nod
the neighbors
something funny over the fence
and dog walkers
cute doggie talk
but a hummingbird lands
and I forget my manners
gawk with eyes glued
to the feathered enigma’s face
I’m lost to find commonality
and anything to say
and wonder
how much farther
my love of connection
can reach into my world
and find something
it can touch
I apologize if you’re looking for campfire stories and not this twisted art of over-the-top descriptions and mirroring metaphors every poet wants a rapt reader a syllabic sleuth to follow the clues
guess I need to buy a flag that can only be raised half-mast one that comes doubled-knotted mid rope or maybe a half flag I can pull up full mast perhaps it should have 50 bullets instead of stars
I didn’t give my poetry teacher an apple so she can think of me in a better light I give her a homegrown tomato which by the way is shaped a lot more like the thing I’m aiming for her heart