i see out of the corner
of my eye
a sparrow flits across my computer screen
my face is blank and i feel
a feeling like when you
play tic tac toe alone
and let yourself win
for two hours
and feel a type of "exhausted"
that sometimes comes from
waking up at night
finally ready to face the day
but all of the lights are off
on the other side of the country
my brother has an encounter with a ghost
he looks down at his dark brown boat shoes
the ghost shifts uncomfortably
the ghost says, "this is awkward
i'm leaving"
and leaves
my brother stands still
staring at his shoes
i think of
tiny cracks
on the sides of trees
an ant crawling up
collapsing
into a finch's mouth
