My Name on His Tongue: Poems

handfuls of wind

46 handfuls of wind this summer I caught handfuls of wind at 65 miles per hour in Kentucky and imagined that the air in my hand was laced with orange blossom that the billboards were not in English and that you were next to me your memories are piles of silk: colorful and unraveled in a heap like your promises I keep in a mother-of-pearl box with the turquoise earrings you gave me at birth to ward off evil one summer I caught handfuls of wind at 120 kilometers per hour in Amman and imagined that you were not taking me to the airport so late in a night that tasted of whiskey and that you would be next to me your memories are photographs: black and white on my desk like my stories 47 that I carry with me everyday with the turquoise ring you gave me at birth to ward off evil ...