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I Hesitate
- The Kent State University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
2 i h e s i t A t e “Then, if you speak, you must not show your face, or, if you show your face, you must not speak.” —Measure for Measure i.iv.12–13 every spring feels like brink as we flirt again, your hand on my shoulder, and then you’re across the room, cars gilded with pollen as trees turn lime and lavender, as girls in prom dresses take pictures in the driveway with the limo, with their awkward dates. They drive off to the best night, they think, and conjure up possibility in the clandestine champagne’s dry tang. They forget spring, too, is the high-pitched bleating that heralds a funnel cloud in the county, worried singer building to the refrain. A funnel gets its color from the soil it churns up. Raising the windows can keep them intact. go to the lowest place. We know what to do. once, when the loudspeakers quieted, i heard a small buzz: a drowsy bee stumbling on the counter. not knowing what to do, i covered it with a bowl. i tell the story as if it’s conversation starter. 3 i look at you. i don’t step backward. but whenever i open my mouth around you, i hear something humming. ...