your sobbing on the telephone basically became,
did he ever love me enough
to wish that I was his first & not
just his last

because it comes every daybreak
because moonlight's
so much more quiet than sun

I fall asleep counting lies instead of sheep
then the cold bodies

coo
coo coo coo
& replace any warm-blooded creature myths gave

your songs about trust are now
just broken promises

(they matter too)

coo
coo coo

there is pressure in your stomach
where you want to make me shut up & stop now
so we pause

for you to replace yourself
with someone less calm

but the moonlight is so much more quiet than a
sunrise
I have dawn inside me &
intend to ***** it out onto your shoes

fertilize the flowers
so a whole meadow grows facing you

birds coo
(they matter too)
coo, coo coo, coo coo coo

we talk about this 'til my lids can close safe,
did he love me enough to wish that I was
his first
or just a really good last

because I tried to be really *******
great to you

& mornings
have always been hard to bury
behind my eyes
coming second after some really great nights.

it must be a childhood playmate
calling from outside the window
with a soft low voice
coo coo coo
waking me up early in the morning

a partridge
a dove
a lingering owl
or you
a tired wanderer on the earth
returned to play
hide-and-seek