enclose yourself
in that stand of red pines
so i can demonstrate
just how high they climb
from the sand of their birth
i wear my mother’s old ring
on my smallest finger
a stone for each child
comes up five gems short
i wear my mother’s name
bound around my lips
waste time with me
let’s find an escape
from these half-mast masks
and half-assed asks
let’s make a date
to sing at the void
together
mattress dungeon 