The Litter I See Project

Our baby drinks and drinks from me.
I weep because she doesn’t know yet
that I’m an empty cup.

When I walk by the river the water
sinks to its knees, the air laps up the last of it and
Fish gasp in the riverbeds.

At home you pass me and I am dust,
falling lightly on everything around you.
You don’t even notice

that you kick a tumbleweed
as you head to bed. Our mattress is made
of the bones of the drowned, they crack,

empty of marrow, as you turn away from
me. Water, water everywhere

and not a goddamn drop to drink.

 

 

♦

Sarah Yi Mei Tsiang  is the author of 8 books, including picture books, poetry, and fiction. Her award winning work has been internationally sold and translated. She is currently a professor of creative writing at Sheridan College.

 

**(“fuckin’ kiss me” photo, by Sarah Tsiang)

 

♦♦♦

Up Next:

“wild purslane with its bitter taste of lemon and tenacity”