something rustles 

along the cracking wooden fence

with skin rough enough 

to scrape off splinters. 

bats click click 

in a palmy shrub outlined 

with deep painterly blue 

& stars that dot a glowing frame. 

the sonar sound is so close

that it makes my ears ring a little

.

i’m thinking about my nonna’s condo.

gliding through the layout

as if i just walked through the door,

hit with the smell of bubbling sauce 

& a laundry detergent i never got the name of.

i miss her extra here.

only a twenty minute drive to 

that emerald gem,

but what’s the point in driving by

for a tenth time. 

i feel her in the florida air,

like a warm, sticky hug that lingers

as long as you wish it would

(3/14/25)