I'D Rather Write About

a flustered tango of Gypsy moths drumming the porchlight; chalk artists; the endemic disappearance of farms—silos lost in unkempt fields; space stations; the sunlit-scent of lemon oil on cherry wood; birth; the chasm between cultural appropriation & cultural appreciation; the history in our dust; loneliness & heartbreak; trivia; funky funerals; climate change, hurricanes, earthquakes & neglected victims; heirloom charm bracelets, homemade wind chimes & the homing sound made by a singing bowl; masquerade balls; cityscapes hidden in ant hills; fly fishing; serendipitous skinny dipping; missing children, teddy bear memorials, forensic identification, monsters never found in sleepy towns; the horrors of zoos— elephants gone mad, lions robbed of their pride; book reviews; civil unrest, bad cops & good cops & young men gunned down; brand new fire stations; cancer survivors who wear baldness so beautifully; my favourite pair of jeans; river rocks found by dearest hands; a letter that can never be received; joyful celebrations; incandescent dragonfly dreams; twenty million at risk of starving to death; wildflowers shaking pretty little heads; misogyny disguised as religion; forgotten veterans who die a bit more inside every day; the rainforest, shrinking; saintly stoners & postulant prostitutes; toxic smog; madmen with warheads; cheese cake & ice wine; every personalized Kama sutra move & the God-given ecstasy of body on body language; holding hands; why one giggle can change everything; Thanksgiving prayers; abandoned minefields, boy soldiers & devastating amputations; the songs of the working poor; lightning over the lake; his timely phone calls; brotherhood & sisterhood; love in its every form; old maps; twenty-one gun salutes; the extinction of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise; being five, being twenty five, being ninety-five; kites; dogs chawing on ragged rawhide; church-like museums on a Sunday afternoon; make-shift picnics; deja vu; thrift store wedding dresses; long drives with comfortable silences; fading freedoms; censorship; seamless moonlight; introspective dalliances with self-acceptance; the power of purpose; how to be the bigger person; how to go in a new direction; how to rise above . . .