refractions on a shadow still the boom
mic lingers overhead / birthday candle
lit in the dough of Hofbrauhaus pretzel
white / purse of gold in a Fogo de Chau
group / illusions you with wealth / blue
yellow balloons framing the window at
Pitt dandelions beneath the barbed wire
public / I’ll be in Charleston alone / on
Thursday away from public / stairs tick
infestations / lift your pitcher-hands in
victory when faced with fall’s expanse

(originally published in Thin Air Online, Spring 2021)