For Andy & Sadie
I leapt \\ we did those things right \\ tamped
the dirt with bare feet \\ cast long shadows on the
rooftops \\ the sun rose \\ the sun set \\ you bought
a pig \ named her Almond \\ we picked cicadas
lustering in the dusk \ grew our hair long \\ I let
the flies bite my arms \ dreamt under a baldachin
for sanity \\ you wrote in orange mornings \\ took
your coffee black \\ we counted the days with
passing skeins \\ we whispered to the corn stalks
till they loomed over us and our arms were full \\
we woke \\ we slept \\ I painted sleeves \ snakes
on my boots \\ took photos of photos \\ you rucked
your clothes \ felt fringe as fashion and way of life
\\ we questioned landlords’ motives but never our
own \\ Almond gored a stranger \ grew feral with
want \\ I wept \\ you lost your thumb \\ you
stopped writing \\ I rooted in the now \ grew feral
with want \\ all the while the wormy chestnut
widowed in the pole barn // What of it? we were
true to the hands we held \\ we honored the night \
jarred the stars and called them fireflies \ august
forever overhead \\ we knew the sun not as an
abstract thing \\ our seeds grew monstrous and tall
\ our actions replaced with words \\ so I left \\ like
we knew I would // years will pass and we will
grow no younger // but look at me now / I cross
my legs // I uncross my legs / paint the air with
my fingers // I turn my chin / pose for the camera
// but just look at my hands learning to make
beauty / look at them waving goodbye
David Joez Villaverde is a Peruvian American multidisciplinary artist who lives in Detroit. His work is forthcoming or recently published in Crab Fat Magazine, FIVE:2:ONE, Occulum, & Mortar Magazine. He can be found at schadenfreudeanslip.com
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