tucked into a used copy
of Elizabeth Strout’s novel
“Anything is Possible”

The previous owner of the book
left a notecard stuck in the middle
of the story, as if

they they gave up on finishing—
and on the card, in red ballpoint
loopy cursive:

1. What’s the plan?
2. What’s the prognosis?
3. Will heart recover?

Above the list, an illustration
of a blue butterfly
alongside a striped bee on a daisy

down below, beneath the word “recover”
a tiny watercolor of a golden-breasted
Evening Grosbeck

whose numbers have plummeted
by 92 percent since 1970.
Will heart recover?