UNTITLED ❋ Alexis Hranchuk

Did I thank you too many times
For the dust of pressed jacaranda
settling in the sweet spot where the pages meet?

Or when I killed a bird with our rental car
& you pried it from the grille for me
& threw it in the Mexican jungle
?

Late last summer I wore makeup for the wrong person
He said “Weather is questionable, no?”
& I was soaked clean by the time I got to him
I grew hard in my unsleep, laid out like a boulevard
Rain on me froze on me

But good morning & thank you for the toothbrush
I let my hair get wet in your hot shower before work,
I risked being late & wasn’t

And also for that moment that was planted in me
when lying with a cold nose under blankets
You,
yelling different types of tea from the kitchen
My scalp buzzing under your ghost hand
slowly opening

In my mind we are still phototropic on an island,
Softening serious things by saying them in French
Rubbing each other in the morning
like dead arms we slept on all night
Making sure there is blood