from an upbringing
of pushing little sorrows down
into a container
long filled to the brim
it’s when a leak springs
a day like today comes
something no explanation
therapy or support will help
for the trickle will self-seal
in time
if not
I’m a decent plumber
I know how to shut it off
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
the eyes in my mind could see both ghosts floating in the past and an illusion of tomorrow drifting away in the future a reminder to stick to following things a bit more solid for when I do catch them