learning what I need, what I need most. What I’m paying her for
mostly is having her in my arms, stroking her hair
because I don’t know how much longer.
Is bringing me overnight oats with a dollop of yogurt,
a few smashed raspberries on top, with a label
that says I LOVE YOU in red marker.
Is watching three episodes of Girls, trying to decide
which character we like most – Hannah or Shosh,
or maybe Hannah’s boyfriend Adam,
whom we hated at first (he peed on Hannah in the shower!),
but who, by the end of Season 2, seems way less gross
and full of himself, wisdom-y
about romantic love. Is binge-ing on rom-coms
with formulaic plots that always end
with a car, boat, or plane chase
to tell the woman he loves her, which always makes me cry,
but a good kind of cry, ya know? Is when she asks
for a list of tasks, and at the top is Come say hi,
and tell me how you are (sweeping and mopping be damned!)
Is Sit with me on the chaise, listening to a scrub jay,
though we cannot see it,
though we don’t know exactly where it is, how long
it will be there doing its weirdly scratchy
yet somehow melodious call.
Martha Silano has authored six poetry collections, including, most recently, This One We Call Ours, winner of the 2023 Blue Lynx Poetry Prize (Lynx House Press, 2024), and Gravity Assist (Saturnalia Books, 2019). She co-authored The Daily Poet: Day-by-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice (Two Sylvias Press, 2013). Martha’s poems have appeared in Poetry, Paris Review, The Missouri Review, and American Poetry Review, and in many print anthologies, including the Best American Poetry series. Awards include North American Review’s James Hearst Poetry Prize and The Cincinnati Review’s Robert and Adele Schiff Poetry Prize. Martha’s website is available at marthasilano.net.