An Alchemy of Words

different breaks

"different breaks"

I. once

you were chasing gophers in a dry

field and then,

phoomp,

a foot disappeared down a hole,

spinning you over and over

until you landed in the stubble

with laughter like tears

and we lay there,

broken,

watching light stream through hairline fractures

in a cloudy sky.

II. i remember getting the letter

where you told me how you broke your leg

by jumping

off a picnic table.

that's the last letter i have from you but

i missed you anyway and when

i came back you weren't

the same and

neither was i:

you jumped off that picnic table,

aiming for the ground yet you

(somehow)

hit a tree.

III. they took x-rays of your life

and found a white lump over your breast where

they poured water over your head, then mine and

we melted,

we softened like

unkilned clay, like pillars

carved from salt.

it was good to see you smile then because

i hadn't seen you happy in

nine years.