seconds

you had to fumble for a little hope in the darkest places and thread it and stitch fragments together. the absence of hope made you care about it more. there were other ways to feel and not to feel and i wanted to know them all. 

#katyamills

avocados on sale

boys chase around the aisles with sacks of weighed apples. avocados on sale. mom pauses, picking the purple textured skins. hopeful. but what would we trade out for it? almond milk? Diana Ross sings over the din of bar code scanning. she lifts her head and closes her eyes

#katyamills

Ukraine

seeing the vision in the Ukrainians

the volunteers the photojournalists 

hope is restored. a country fights

for the values by which it came to exist!

that’s sacred. still. it’s war and

hope is also decimated

  #katyamills

123

run your colors

light your skies 

give away your lasting hope 

to dawn and open 

eyes

#katyamills

october 24

with hope upon wakening

believin the work to be done 

i open my manuscript

and like the washer the dryer you

spill out on the floor at my feet

such is life

replete and resplendent

we sharpen our blades

and fall on them

#katyamills

smile the sad goodbye

they wore out

fabrics to allay the troubling

times one of rayon one

of tested yarn and rope

one of pheasant fur and birch one 

of hope they 

wore out welcomes

made of clay

quilted cloak 

of sunless days they

smiled the sad 

goodbyes   

 #katyamills

world bipolar

time made history we

shred the wheat in the bowl

soak in milk and 

digest. they lie in the mud

sheltered by big red hats

and flags. injustice

never ends. world bipolar we hope we 

retreat then take the stage

more colorful than red

white and blue 

#katyamills

where

the sun rose and

hopelessness wisped

away. you once had it all i 

wonder where

you are

maybe 

there’s hope for you

too

#katyamills

broadcasting hope

if you feel like running 

around the block 4 times

like a dope

broadcasting your 2021 aura 

of hope then 

go!

you are you

don’t ever let

the world 

dictate

#katyamills

hope ina hopeless time

back to the liquor store

for another scratcher you
poured a cup of coffee at the gas
station walked out
of town on the train
tracks you recited in your head
the smile the cashier gave you
the balanced smile

all the hope you
ever had ina hopeless
time

#katyamills