Читать книгу Popular Longing - Natalie Shapero - Страница 10

The Suggested Face for Sorry

You and me—we are the opposite

of twins in an old story.

When I am in pain, you don’t feel it.

If I up and retch, you never guess.

The city laid out poison

along the tunnels and tracks, meant

for rats, and one day my dog ate some.

She was fine. I’ve never been

so jealous in my life. I want to do

the things we do to die,

and then just take off sprinting

in the steep ravine. In my dream,

I walk my dog and you cross

our path and she torques at you

and rears and snaps. She senses

you are wholly bad. They say animals

can tell, like with earthquakes.

You’re supposed to scan the classifieds,

searching for a sudden spike

in the number of missing pets. That’s

how you know to prepare. Maneuver

away from shelving. Crawl

to the nearest doorframe. Get out

of California. What are you waiting for.