after 8 (circle)—Bon Iver
The weather app promised clear skies
& I said more because don’t our bodies
require heat? When my back split open
from sunburns, out poured
the Chippewa river & a siege of herons.
I haven’t been sleeping; thankfully you
apply aloe while I contemplate dirt roads.
Maybe I’ll never stop picking these
mosquito bites; what a way to feel
closer to god. Are we done apologizing?
Memory loops of our past as I watch
live performances from those summers
in the woods. A lot is at sky height.
Remember that storm in Eau Claire & how
we huddled together under a cheap poncho?
Our own cave. Eventually we emerged
to our tangled breaths running away.
My mother asked about marriage again.
I’m tired of constantly justifying
every promise I make to you in silence.
How you are forever my favorite blue
& every shade hiding in the gamut.
I keep returning to the line what I have
& haven’t held & the way you laugh
at the coffee I spill on the kitchen floor; a river
carrying our two bodies home.
& I said more because don’t our bodies
require heat? When my back split open
from sunburns, out poured
the Chippewa river & a siege of herons.
I haven’t been sleeping; thankfully you
apply aloe while I contemplate dirt roads.
Maybe I’ll never stop picking these
mosquito bites; what a way to feel
closer to god. Are we done apologizing?
Memory loops of our past as I watch
live performances from those summers
in the woods. A lot is at sky height.
Remember that storm in Eau Claire & how
we huddled together under a cheap poncho?
Our own cave. Eventually we emerged
to our tangled breaths running away.
My mother asked about marriage again.
I’m tired of constantly justifying
every promise I make to you in silence.
How you are forever my favorite blue
& every shade hiding in the gamut.
I keep returning to the line what I have
& haven’t held & the way you laugh
at the coffee I spill on the kitchen floor; a river
carrying our two bodies home.
Steve Merino (he/him) is a poet from Saint Paul, MN. His work can be found in Ghost City Review, the Under Review, and others. Full publications listed at linktr.ee/steve_merino. Follow him on Twitter @steve_merino.