I understand the pull of her swirling
hair & why it’s her waist your hand
wants to entwine. I understand
that her aventurine eyes sweep
over you like the Caribbean
surf.  I understand why
you forget about other loves, forget
about me. Now I am a crushed
monarch under an 18-
wheeler. A girl who always
goes back out to sea. I am
the moon going down. I shouldn’t
have let you do it. I am a girl
who sings a poem of endless water.