Rue
by Samantha Malay
published in Heading In and Out: Transient Life Poems (Poets’ Choice 2024)
https://poetschoice.in/product/heading-in-and-out/


put your arms in the sleeves
of the shirt with pearl snaps
pull your belt through the loop
we are already late

forget most of the words
we said to each other
the separate steps that became a dance
vapors chasing an ignition source

the sound of the ocean
will be lost after breakfast
bird-wings obscured by grocery lists

and when I learn to fold laundry in my sleep
I’ll remember I parked near the carwash today
I’ll dream you were crowned with branches like antlers
my thoughts desk drawers full of sand