“Tap” by Steve Liu
The shape of days
in love
just two
little syllables
roaring in the night
in the seconds
before we fell asleep
I saw the evening
green with a little pink
color
without light
Presence
of a body disconnected
and yet
synonymous with self
there are no words
in my mind
a full picture of you:
sun setting
thin as a blade now
pink almost gone
but not quite
*
running across rooftops
mid-leap
her handbag
dangles loose
*
the shape of days
without:
make a list of actions
breathe
see through
apologize
meet
the sad truth of
a burden
they call it
crushed
*
that "carrying" can be defined
as
don’t worry
*
I'm interested in
honesty
people
and words
how they flex and bend
considering what's before
and what's after
the second something changes
meaning
or, precisely
when a raindrop crystallizes
and becomes snow
picked up by wind
and finds direction
*
a hopeful framework:
walking happily alone
forgiving
smiling at others
*
how can one be
smiling
when
the only thing
absolute
goes out the door,
shrugs off the dream
*
though eventually
returning for her handbag
*
I remember the minute before
you woke up
imagining
your mother's smile
rain heavy on her jacket
carrying a gift
superstitions
to dispel your hesitancy
I'm sorry to have
offended you
*
and words of course
don't come back
you can't catch them
like snow catches itself
midair
with the breeze
brushing your shoulder
instinctive sorry
and you can't try to explain
the planets moving
the feelings
the rivers away
*
how
my father
spent his days
hunched over
picking up sand
from the bottom of an hourglass
admiring each grain
doing so
gratefully
he lived forever
a man
understand
inexplicably
other people exist
somewhere in the middle
often outside of our
memory
*
in dreams
I turn the corner
snowflakes do too
bouncing to
the song I’m humming
which is to say
the wind jumps
listens to
the rhythm of rain
bounce the raindrops
bulging like gems
it's a beautiful morning
us gathered three
in one umbrella
the strangers
touching my elbow
the junction
of arm and arm
surely important
upon which hinges
waving hello
or goodbye
*
muscle theory:
the brain
instructs the fibers
wordlessly
hold hands
squeeze tight
let go
*
the same instance a touch
begins it also
begins to cease
moving forward
then away
then back again.
Steve Liu writes for The Michigan Daily and SHEI Magazine. He also runs Canopy, an experimental magazine focused on spreading care through art, literature, and place.
