I see something moving
in the trees
across the river

It is convincing me
that I am hungry
and it will feed me

I am hungry
I have not eaten since 
I saw my mother intact

She was angry
had shapes all over 
her face

stress and strenuousness
warmth and forgiveness
eternity

When I rode the subway afterwards
I looked closely   maybe longingly
at the people around me

and thought, one second separates us
from breathing in
each other’s skin

Copyright © 2022 by Brandon Shimoda. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 2, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.