She watches listens
movements sounds
out the window cracked
slightly open; sadly
comfort and constant
adoration housed
on a leash fed twice daily
I cannot give something
other different wildly
running in a pack; sadly
I watch as She sighs
curling into my side to sleep
to enjoy time at home
time alone
to prefer gatherings
of close friends
to prefer loud spaces
in moderation
the guilt of societal pressure to be
something someone other than yourself
the guilt of Mother…
the acceptance of a thing
is not an active search for it;
her gaze keeps me tethered
through a soul-dark moment of
labored breaths rattling in a
chest in a half-lit room