Getting Out Of The Ruins While It's Still Dark

getting out of the ruins while it's still dark
we fed our last sweet crumbs to the moonlit birds
this is the last of the cherries I said

when I was speaking in the colour red
and telling times by twos.
what did you learn in school

I learned tea set rules, to model in clay and
how to be somewhere else all day
and that the pelting of words

felt like sleet coming down, stray marbles
thrown at the visionary weddings
the sudden quizes, quizzical;

fractions, sweetly the conjugations of llorar.

even with aprils sweeping through the yard
this is the last of the dreams my star; I said to you,
be careful with it.

mary angela douglas 5 march 2020