three_books
raze one with your name
burned into its back.

one a thick hardcover
with embossed white
letters on the front,
the ink inside a river
of half-hearted hope
kicking against the cruelty
of an uncaring world.

one a thin paperback.
fifty-seven snapshots of a life
still being lived,
bulging with a bookmark
that fell from the flesh
of a waterfowl —
a hollow shaft
fringed with smoke
that stung your lungs
the day your heart broke
and mended itself.

all three
slipped inside
a tear-proof serape
with four words
tucked into the seam
(our way of building
a better goodbye).
220629
what's it to you?
who go
blather
from