i have vague recollections i say
of zams (the cat)
joining me on the fold-out in my dreamsleep
_______
harper’s kentucky drawl
plus grits, greens and eggs (plus carrot cake scraps) for breakfast
accompanied by blackberry sage black tea
sandhill sweetness (in the form of honey) stirred in
_______
corinne lays down in the driveway in protest
as we are about to leave
black jacket black jeans speckled white
with salt/sand specks
_______
what will you do on your drive back steph asks
sing to myself i say
any part of any song whose words i can remember
the radio doesn’t work
_______
V of geese
pointing east
over i-27
against a bray/blue/purple/white layer-sky
_______
left elbow exposed
through a double layer of ragged holes
(wool sweater and long underwear under that)
a space where the cool sneaks in
_______
wherein granola, what we thought was the dying cat,
eats food for the first time in days
and seems to be breathing easier
and can make her way up the stairs without stumbling
_______
i memorized the map i say
about the two and a half hour drive
which is the first time i’ve driven a car alone
a considerable distance
since 1995
_______
mica and i up on slater’s hill
with our headlamps on ‘red light’
deciphering constellations
in the moonless night
(amongst the things we discover
is orion shooting/aiming for taurus
with his flexed bow)
detail collector 