Things are so ordinary
and terribly
important.

Today
a kid
called me
the best teacher ever
and the dean called me Judas.

Someone rolled their eyes,
I ate kim-chi,
my cleavage burnt and itched
beneath my blouse
leftover sunrays dancing.

The gym teacher cried
her cousin died
a drunk driver
and there it goes—
days of anecdotes
untold.

My heart’s mad,
can’t take the layers of levity
adding up to weight.

Heavy
like flesh on a thigh bone
we move through sidewalks
streets of people
unknown

Stop and say hello

Smile at the shadow of vines

Remind yourself today is full
of what could be sadness
but isn’t.
It is
lit and lovely. Smile.
Those muscles know how
to remember that luck is beautifully horrific
and all we can do
is try to trust
how potter’s field
is sewn.