—i.
red juice sliding over a thumb / & no sign
telling us we can’t eat / so we eat
til bees slip past / all of us giddy
rocked in red / winged with sugar
Adam holds up a branch / I let the red
fall & fall / into me / like surf
four months left / before I
leave / beg
what I love / to stay.
—ii.
already, the branch / slumps
curvy with red / and Adam
talks about / lunar cycles
silver bracelets / Catherine’s
Taiwanese grandma / regal
in her praise / of Adam’s hair
I want to press / my bold head
to the ground / scoop up
berry after berry / then lose
count / tell the dirt to
remember me / & these
hands / which prayed
in the dark / after tasting
berries stuck / to its snout.
—iii.
we fill the plastic jugs / tied
to our waists / & drive past
stalks of corn / that remind me
of my crush’s shoulders / tall
& generous & lean / I am
surprised at how / it takes me
years to forget / the way my
father called, once / said
you are very amazing / while at
home my mother / boiled
ears of yellow corn / which
we ate / sitting down / hot
& wordless / with wonder.
—iv.
driving home / with Adam
raspberries / in the backseat
I am reminded of
what I’ll leave behind:
magnets on a fridge
& white stems
& the same silver pan
I washed / for years
before learning / it came
from my mother’s mother.
& here, when I thought I knew
every thing / so eager to leave—
the metallic touch / of
these women / pulled
some muscle / in me
spun my chest / red
new longing for / hands
& dirt / cool walks / rice
here go / constant surprises
even in a space / I thought I owned.
—v.
the truth is / I want to leave
but I don’t want to leave
& I know nothing / & every thing, still
praise today / berry juice / a friend / the time
on we go / the bushes laced / with bees
while the days roll by
magnificent / shiny / strong
at the curb I tell Adam / goodbye
& I love all I love / with my wide
open mouth / I bite down
bite down / & keep biting
I don’t / spit any of it / out.