are you dreaming now
between the drywalls
of american cities
that never sleep
are you lost now
in novels and prose
both of which you inhale
as if you are vying time
are you missing now
mom’s saccharine smiles
and dad’s laughter that
eddies in the air like mist
are you gone away now
from laying with your sisters
- daylight strewing your faces
and the carpet beneath your bellies
are you far away now
from the tall grass
and townhouses
and the smell of
honeysuckle vines
are you forgetting now
the orange juice stains
and maple syrup fingers
and the sweet melodies
of home
for she would sometimes forget
to retrace her footsteps
to look over her shoulder
at the dust she left in her wake,
at the blips in the sky
from the cosmos
she had devoured whole
- anon