I wish you knew that I don't want you to be hurting 

Or drinking your way out of feeling 

I think you should flood the house with grief if that is what you need 

And recover when your organs have emptied themselves of him 

Someday he will simply be a pasture you once walked through in a storm 

_ive been there 

The Forrest in you 

Has syrup in all of its trees 

I recognize it under your eyes 

See it laced in each of its sentences 

he has not found it

he probably never will 

& you will be tapped dry

_run

You are sharp like a pearl 

No one would understand this unless they shook your hand and tasted the softness

And vigor 

All at once 

_passion

Ally Suzer

i remember the waiting in your home
my mind was a beesnest
your home
a haven
the fan blew in peace every night and I relearned how to sleep

we slept so close to each other
you slowly became that sister I had always asked my mother for

you with braces and a torso that fit my cotton

i remember the long drive way
muffins at doorways
the long cast of the lawn and Kirt who kept it
the man who was a hermit with the home crowded with lamplight
and the old lady who dropped off ornaments and lived verses
the time I made cake out of black beans
my mind awake with confusion 
found a tiny drug of love in your family

you were a child then
and i was growing out of one

and now you sit here 
your hair falling over your shoulders
your arms long like your legs
all of you coming to a soft placed called

_woman

i watch the two of you
tall like twigs
become a tree

you make him unafraid of Grand Rapids
or of the tiny fires planted in him


_partner

W

Wesley,

You and your wife have grown on me

Her with her timely straight sentences and interior design sense
the way she always makes me feel like i'm by a fireplace

and you with vigor say every word like liquor

Carefully I've taken the top of your hair to finger length and hers to honey

I'm fond of you and your cussing

Cigarette breath

The half empty cup of coffee you always leave in the eating room 

The bark on your chin and the curve of your back from the surgeries and age 

Yesterday

With a twenty dollar bill and hug you said goodbye 

And Oceans Springs will take you like oceans do

You remind me of bark 

Be aware that the quiet of her 

Does not equal boring 

A fire only whispers 

And does all the damage you can imagine 

He took the knife and carefully slid it across his bicep 

The blood climbed out of the skin 

Quick and with long legs 

It felt a little like alcohol 

_and a bit more like breathing 

You

A lightbulb

Full with firefly 

You have the leather of a

Peony pedal 

And the blood of strawberries 

_Kylie, happy birthday.