www.zacstafford.com

A gentle cool rain blew in and
Was heard only by me, and only
because of the loudmouthed leaves,
tiny fingers on keyboards typing, the screen
the dim edge of my skull, through
a crack the mosquito slipped and
then found its terrible beak into
my veins while I tried to sleep—

Slapping shoulder, slapping thigh
buzzing ear buzzing by,

I held vigil over the bed with you asleep
Next to me, both of us stock
Still, one awake, on watch,
Light on, waiting for you to land

My bladder ascending leads
Me to the bathroom to wait and
Watch there, where on the floor
Under the radiator squirms an
Enlarged version of a textbook
Drawing of a cell divided, who on
My approach with a tissue moves
Quickly, startling me, my skin
Already acrawl and aquiver
Like a runway waiting for a plane
To land, like a river turned
Upside down

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