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the reporter
told her
she was supposed to be home
not safe
in the snow
with legs like yours

and I woke up
in a crumbling
bed
historic Louisville
with a dog on my chest
and the moon
resting between my teeth

she came home
told me
it wasn’t safe on the ice
dropped her prey
into my lap
and asked
if that was okay
if that was good

our child
never slept
spun her wheels in the mud
poking her head from the
window
asking
am I okay
is this good

twenty years
and I stopped prowling
I turned into a stone mattress
akin to her only dream
to be asleep beside me