M. Hank

I reach over

Maybe for the last time

Knowing it could be the last

Makes me latch on

I can't pull away

I won't

You tighten your grip and I tighten mine

Pulling me close to your side

We clapped.

We celebrated.

We read off paper plates of all the good qualities.

We ate bagels.

We had streamers.

We spent two hours setting up beforehand.

We had a mini parade and my body was numb.

中午 At 12:00 pm you walk into the tea store that lies just above the edges of your consciousness, embalm your tongue with the scent of green tea and honey.

After they arrived at the train station in the middle of nowhere, getting off of the bus was an awful drag. It was sluggish, slow, and the fleeting flocks of people turned into deep, hurling crowds.

Take me to the Karakoram Road, I beg—

Where the mountains meet the rivers, 

Entwined with the pathways of cracked cement

Sam and Willa lay on their backs in the overgrown grass of his yard, her describing the shape of the clouds for him to paint as a picture in his head.