scatter

i think i must have left a piece of myself

in the grass two summers ago

in that field where the green stalks rippled

and the sky seemed to stretch on forever

where we had laid on our backs

and stared upward at the clouds

and i thought that they looked like ships

sailing across the endless blue

and my brother had said i was talking nonsense

did he not also wonder

if they got lost up there

in the realm where the barest sliver of atmosphere

mirrors our ocean?

i think particles of my soul must have evaporated

sitting on the porch that inky night

it was hot, crickets chirped, and the lanterns flickered

every so often on the streets

because when it began to drizzle

a few days later

it felt a bit like coming home.