a magical place:
the only way to describe
these teenage smiles
even pup loves it
cycling past wildlife
below the Smokies
where can you see bears
and collect salamanders
under the same sun?
this mountain-framed pic
taken on the same soil
twenty-three years past
we’re fatter, older
while the mountains are hotter;
such is life—sad changes
yet look at our girls
fearlessly taking this on
one moon-wing a time
a magical place:
the only way to describe
these teenage smiles
even pup loves it
cycling past wildlife
below the Smokies
where can you see bears
and collect salamanders
under the same sun?
this mountain-framed pic
taken on the same soil
twenty-three years past
we’re fatter, older
while the mountains are hotter;
such is life—sad changes
yet look at our girls
fearlessly taking this on
one moon-wing a time
Kentucky has coal
but also cool rainforests
(midsummer cooldowns)
enough rain will fall
in two days to flood a creek
drunk by my puppy
water is the life
that sustains these roadside farms
its blood for our blood
Kentucky kayaks
have defined my sister’s life
this past fifteen years
through all the algae
fighting through climate crises
we keep paddling
life is a rope swing
make a running circle out
and don’t hit the tree
those just-jumped-in grins
can win our independence
from a dark future
my newly groomed pup
with his new shovel squeak toy
my baby’s so cute
we have found our box
not perfect nor expensive
yet perfectly lit
our black cat smiles
for her Halloween spirit
to seep through the leaves
so like her black cat
always calling for her needs
hoping we’ll listen
i want the cute cat
and not the cracked-up pavement
through the broken woods
broken copier,
mushroom chicharrón tacos,
and this sad puppy
it's only Wednesday
of my first week back at school
and exhaustion wins
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