Selected Poems

The Jogger

She passes yard after yard of pink azaleas,  
Pontiacs, and kids playing hopscotch 
with colored chalk. She counts their steps, the hot 
familiar pain in each thigh, the lost life 
she longs for. She wants to race the stars. Her stride 
lengthens, crossing driveways and city blocks, 
floating, pumping her heart into the shape  
of a child’s beautiful, tight fist. Her ears ache  
with the sound of the world and its breath,
the hum of blue mercury vapor lights   
above the one-three, seven and nine hop  
of slim, competitive children. At night  
running is like making love. The city
offers her the hard paths she wants to own.

(published in Nexus)