august

1.
august heart suffocates--
dogged heat in hoboken,
walk nonetheless deaf to the tremble
of water. does it seem complacent?
settled?
meet you on third, my marine,
eyes lucent, blue unlike the hudson.
unsurprised, no hint of a smile,
and i try to choke my expression.

swell nonetheless--
a noon feeling;
this i try to choke as well.
this i slip past railings black,
into that green vein,
that fat hudson.
2.
he walks quiet, he talks animated,
and i follow at his side, eyes raised
to his rosy smile.

the speech winds to the future,
the present leads to the edge
of the pier--italian ice not even half eaten,
color perched upon his lips.

years take him to the desert,
past books and celebration,
to guns quick with screams--
noon years in hell. i want to ask,
how can you love a nation that kills you?
that kills your brothers unknown until
met at the end of bullets,
their blood speckled in your eyes?

be he is decided, quiet.

and i think, how can i love a man
that has never stopped in my stare?
who can't see me, curled in the sand
at his feet, like a creature caught
in the chaos of nations?

my marine, not mine,
his blue eyes clear to the heart--
his incalcuable noon.
his country cracked in his skin,
peering through blood.