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the next time

the next time we all stay inside
it will be for love of our cooking pots
pencil sharpeners
Buddhist gongs
ripped-up couches
rooster cloths

the magnolias will explode hard, pinker than ever
but the windows will grow dirty
the front doors cobweb over
the hinges will rust

while we burrow lost in our old old things

***

the next time we all walk down the middle of the street
we will be moving refrigerators, lifeboats, houses
all of the engines gone kaboom and we the elderwives power your world

onewoman, onewoman, onewoman at a time
on feet, toes, blisters

onewoman, onewoman, onewoman at a time
with the hum of our babies
driving our bellies
forward
forward

***

the next time the airplanes are pulled from the sky
watch us pile them into mindbombs
telling our unborn selves the story
long-ago stewardess pin collections, coloring books
little feet kicking the air while we worldsailed high

***

the next time

quiet world
unknown road
brand-new melody
world starts over

the next time

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