Pandora, In Parts

Part Four

EASTER.

This year, Persephone came back instead of Jesus. We smashed eggs to call her forth. (Up)On the balcony, under the moon. He has regrets. I do not.

SORRY I.

Sorry I spilled

my water,

my beer,

my heart

all over you.

It wasn’t your fault this time.

SORRY II.

Sorry the ink’s still sticky,

I’m working on getting the

consistency right.

How quickly does blood dry?

FOR THE LOVE OF—.

It was a passing glance—nothing more—and it meant everything to her to be seen like that. A domino effect, a cascade of unleashing she didn’t know she had. She had an amazing brain, and amazing can also mean scary because, for in that briefest of moments, she laughed. And no one knew why. She realized she wasn’t a monster—just a woman who wanted to be loved on her terms. And in that glance, she thought she saw that sparkle. It wasn’t for her to say if it was real or imagined—it may never be for her to know:

Is a knowing glance enough.

Is it any better.

FORBIDDEN FRUITS II.

& I ate 5 huge chunks

of watermelon simply because

it is your most hated fruit.

Mine is honeydew.

THIS ISN’T ABOUT CRAWDADS.

The mud between her fingers

will one-day haunt her.

The grit of sand, she casts a line

her father prepared in those

early morning trips with a cooler.

She doesn’t yet know that red

will be her least favorite color—

Of too many cups

in that small creek;

doesn’t yet know that grass makes her knees itch;

That ribbons can mean more than one thing;

That baiting a line

will be her strong suit.