I.

I used to fall in love
once a week—the girl
with mismatched socks, an old gent
reading Dante at Dunkin’ Donuts,
the lady in fuzzy duck slippers
wheeling a cart at Wegmans.

I’ve courted cirrus clouds,
proposed to coastlines,
married the Atlantic in a private ceremony.

Once I loved
a fisherman, glass blower,
animal rescue volunteer.

II.

The woman at the auto repair shop
has an aborted fetus screensaver.
The manager at the hardware store
mounted a small arsenal on his office wall.
He helped me find the exact tool.
She gave me a break on a loaner.

Cruelty clusters
in bookstores and at newsstands,
bloats airwaves.

The country is closing.
I need eyes on this.

Mariposa lilies and cosmos
scorch the trail behind my house.

I’m not certain autumn will return
unless I push for it.

I plant no bulbs,

wait to see what awakens.