999 S

(a couple of beers
coffee
before noon
couldn’t // sleep)

different bite
different teeth
the sheets all matted
the bathroom
dirty

a little bee
on the queen’s
reproach
sat idly by
watched the flowers
turn into dust
then be born again
just watched
the days bring rain
or sleet
or anything that comes down
from that blue blanket
held above us all by
cosmic fingertips

put a sled in the grass
and
sweat
sweat

on lunch break
a bee came home to rest
name herself

little M
little M
little queen
little M
little queen

shapeless
shapeless

shapeless

a little bee
in a dress
taken up by the wind
floating down the yard
to be grasped at by a toddler
or bitten at by a hound
a little bee
with the same enemies
as loneliness
but that’s not right

little bee
asleep in a crib
watched the carousel lamp
spin until sleep
became an imperial blanket
tucked in

we all hear you coo