hunk of blood in
morning phlegm
cause for subtle alarm
________
the swish
of my raincoat arm accidentally brushing
my busmate’s raincoat arm
10:41 am
shuttling north
________
return to a reclaimed library
lights half off
community agreements posters
remain on round beams near the door
________
umbrella colors/shapes on campus
(often open even when several degrees less than drizzling)
as if a theater prop
as if synchronized dance and song
is about to flashmob itself on library walk
at the old student center
in the revelle courtyard
________
how the rain
feels like god/dess / superpower magical force
forgiving san diego
which inspires me to give it a try too
________
the nurse with her stethascope to my tshirt
plotting points on my chest, rib-sides, back
says i must have the slowest heartbeat of all the people she’s seen today
packed waiting room outside
3ish pm
________
some kind of smugness in
knowing how to dress for this
wet cool weather
and by cool i mean
when the wind picks up
throws eucalyptus bark at my booted feet
i wouldn’t hesitate to call it tropical
________
liz, i don’t understand why i just talked
about mango sweet sticky rice
when it was within our reach
(actually, i do know
the sweet is sometimes too sweet
and in this unknown health moment
it seems most wise
not to feed my immune capabilities
to the sugar monster,
otherwise i would have)
________
l l tells the packed lecture hall how she
tells her students to
send me a postcard from somewhere interesting
and the corresponding photo of a bulletin board
crammed with cards and postcards
________
sweet sauted onion taste test at the kitchen table
before i pass around farmers market kimchee
orange and spicy
________
last song of the eve before powering down
