Natural Re-folding of a Plan to Sit Somewhere Together
Carmen Dolina
I was supposed to tell you on our good couch,
next to the wasps. On good canvas cushions covered in
bat shit, all chewed around the edges. Perfect for no other
birdwatchers. iMessage chess enthusiasts. Occasionally-proud
members of Team Edward, depending on the movie, on the day.
I would’ve forgiven it for not facing a more exciting horizon.
There’s nothing new about northeast. Nothing new about
my neighbor’s mango tree, or the mayas that visit.
Your ten shirts in foreseeable rotation. The cold October air.
I’d point at the fallen kalachuchi flowers, which you’d look at,
and the flickering, motion-sensor deck lights that I believe to be
my lola, which you’d say hi to. It’s nothing new,
that I love you, and that I’d planned it out.
The familiar agendas, your knowing stare. Neither are
your ruining step ahead, my current headache,
and the call at 4 this morning to beat me to it.
Carmen Dolina is a Filipino computer science/game development student, so she doesn’t know how she ended up writing poetry. Some of her work has appeared in Horde Poetry and TLDTD Journal. Her biggest regret is selling her Carly Rae Jepsen tickets to go to theater rehearsals that ended up getting canceled.