Today is one of those days.
My body reminds me of its firm limits,
the bark contouring a twig,
the sheer face of a rocky ledge.

Hard edges. I want to burst forth
from behind this skin, but I don’t want
to die. A thousand reasons why
I love the jay’s call sailing
through coastal pine,

the poppy exploding into luminescent bloom
overnight, the saltiness of the man
I’ve chosen. The thousands and thousands

of times I’ll choose him again.