Fainting Goat

sing to me.

i've been a stranger once more

to your hills and valleys, to the

gaps of sunlight between your grasping evergreens.

i've been a stranger

to the red barn

"I think I love you."

                 ...

                 ...

sometimes the dress feels like a soft breath

a quiet hope wrapped in fabric

that touches my skin like a secret i’m afraid to speak aloud

it’s the way light moves when i twirl

the way i feel seen without saying a word

"I don't care," I say.

Don't care.

Don't.

Do not.

Don't want to.

Can't.

Scared to.

You look at me.

Ask, "What about your friends?"

Yes, what about them, self?

I am a dying star
Don’t mourn me, I am quite far.