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.