Anthology
Everyone in the world wears a mask
beside the sea. Everyone in the world
holds a gem from a shipwreck. Everyone
loves music. Everyone smells lilac.
Everyone in the world should care for
the bees. Each hive has an undertaker
that removes the dead for the benefit
of the living. Bees construct hives
in abandoned toilets or under the hoods
of tractors. Everyone in the world has been stung.
But you didn't know the bee was in your mug.
It didn't know you were taking a sip.
Everyone loves the stars, though
we've only seen them from a distance,
and long after they're gone. They
flamed in broken bottlenecks and
never knew their names. They've never
seen us, but they leave to us their light.
They are fiery advisors, furious gods
dancing in darkness. I can’t tell where
the oracle begins. It was a year of raucous
June bugs and shimmering aspens. Everyone
packed a bag. You tended your garden
of lavender and thyme. Tulips fringed
the meadow. The archer split an arrow.
The anthology included everyone.