I am not crying   You are

Okay      I am

on the phone with you
out from hungover car
in Columbus Ohio

loud   enough
to traverse     sonic field
flats     green

and potholed concrete
across state line
to Indianapolis Indiana

I am not screaming     Okay

I am screaming     You
walk   a cell phone tower
tightrope listening    repeating

    It is okay to cry

Some things I cannot
deny    This hungover
day sags into night

GPS off     driving loops
around the block
memories the silver ring

around another’s finger

 

(originally published in Scarlet Leaf Review, Fall 2019)