before the peaches fall (5/4/20)

leave the windows open all day;

let the house forget the feeling 

of dust and fingernails.

make the doors wing open with haste; 

feel the souls of children

bleeding out with the urge 

to lie in sultry grasses.

crack the ribs of last year;

add warmth to warmth like wedding cake 

with papaya candles

marrying sundaze

on flagpole afternoons.

mold your spirit to the sight of clouds;

blues and whites mingling in acrid sweat

remembering how it feels to have 

the heart strike unseen numbers

endless sweet honey

spooned from a cracked bowl.