But isn’t this how

Katrina Kaye

we should live our lives?

Listening to music about fools in love;
dancing without worrying about
matching the beat; humming along

because there is no shame
in not knowing the words;

glancing out the window at
a blue sky; watching the mimosa flowers
wave from the neighbor’s yard;
writing poetry about the
potential of the world which humanity
does not deserve.

Our only noble purpose as a species is to
adore the raw beauty of our earth.

We were never meant to participate in the play,
we were meant to enjoy it, appreciate it,
applaud all its hard work to become
something sustainable for a species
as miserable as humankind who has
war and money and all the small chaos
we insisted on inventing.

We take for granted the things
that we are not credited. We act
unimpressed at the pure magic that
is this existence –

Perhaps if we slow down, if we watch
and listen and sit very still, we can enjoy
the show created for our pleasure.

“But isn’t this how” is previously published by Cajun Mutt Press (2024).

2 things

Katrina Kaye

there are
2 things

i
now know
for certain:

i loved
you with
every beat
of my self

&

it did
not matter

 

“2 things” is previously published in Rabbits for Luck (2016).

 

2 things Katrina Kaye

Father

Katrina Kaye

Allow a streak of light
from single bulb hallway
to lay across the floor.

Remind me, in this mild action,
there are heroes in the world,
not every action is based on
the selfish hunger of men.

On nights like this
the rocks of the world
lay heavy on my spine,
pinning me to an earth
I have no desire to inherit.

Let me hear the voices
down the hall. The influx
in cadence regardless of meaning,
the occasional laugh.

I am again
five years old asleep in
a stranger’s house feeling
no desire to resume the
party but comforted to know
it continues.

Leave the door cracked,
just enough, so I’ll know
when the house rings silent,
when the hall light finally dims
that I am completely alone.

“Father” is previously published in Chariot Press (2022). Talon (2022), and Greatest City Diary (2022).