Above, the stars are swelling and swelling
as they do. Me—I’m still just a sad song
humming its way up a throat. Paint a tunnel
on the maroonest canyon wall, run into it,
and then try to imagine the same act
in a fleshless, loveless world. That’s why
I keep saying it’s always better to feel something
than nothing—which I say as someone
who’s felt enough of both to last a short lifetime.
Longing begets longing even in the most bloodshot eyes,
and the heart grows bolder with its beating:
an accordion stretching beyond what it’s given
permission to reach toward. Containing a heart
is one thing. Keeping it forever? Please.

The lines "try to imagine the same act in a fleshless, loveless world"
are modeled after lines from Mark Irwin's poem "A Glass of Water."