the pearl starts over
                       a new grain of sand
                       we are going to find
                       in the planet of blue
                    a freshly written eviction note 
                    a sash hanging off the horse
                told the story without you
the kind of children we deserve who rob us in our sleep
                       we never need to believe in anything again
          they take our car and money and head for the beach
 

From While Standing in Line for Death (Wave Books, 2017). Copyright © 2017 by CAConrad. Used with permission of the author and Wave Books.