it’s OVER

whelming

darkness

the creeping red
into the garden. the blossom
     I align with the ocean
in its magnitude of idealism

I align with my self-
deprecating friends
my honest to
whatever god makes
them actually brings
them happiness I want
to live a little less
for my own interests
if I can help
you bring yourself
to light instead I
think you can call
the results
a little more
often, the god
of who we want
to be, the presidents
we are

(originally published in The Los Angeles Review of Los Angeles, Summer 2022)