Originally published in Sine Theta Magazine #19 “HIGH NOON 午”
to be
to swell
to reside
Present
I am you are
I intend you attend
I move-in you situate
Past
they knew
they fulfilled
they lived
Future
no one will remember
we will be terrified
I will translate
Conditional
in some cases, to refuse metaphor is nothing lesser
if a cavity swells, who is poorer, who dies
with precise enough instruments, uprooting plantago is easy
Modified by
barely
slowly
transiently
Used by
poets; estuaries; shorelines; teenage Hamlet
inflammatory cytokines; pop chorus; tide in your hometown
things that run 24/7
EMILY LU is a poet and resident physician. Her first chapbook Night Leaves Nothing New (Baseline Press 2019) was shortlisted for the bpNichol chapbook award.