-by Linzi Garcia

Many poetic thoughts

will never become poems,

because they’re not poems.

Some examples:

The way each person at this table

approaches their bite of food differently—

him, teeth first; her, tongue first;

the baby, mouth open wide.

At home, I only drink coffee

from other places, but anywhere else,

I only drink coffee from home.

You can’t tell if the girl

by the campfire is crying

because of the smoke in her eyes

or the breakup.

He says he is going to read

a piece from memory, rather

than recite it.

The blue of the fall bushberries,

looking alien-like, out of place,

and extraordinary.

These are not poems

and never will be,

but rather practice

at paying attention.