on the t.v. news mount rushmore
was covered with blackbirds
indians dancing
below
i’d just walked in
unpacked
diet coke
meat
conditioner
and a vanilla shake
i’d been careful of
a long time
it slipped
when i picked it up
to give to you

easter was over
slushy out
you were sitting in the armchair
by the sofa
still in your coat and boots from work
you stood up
sounding disgusted
and actually i agreed

these
were stupid
things
to buy

all sticky
all over
the carpet

you don’t have a
good enough sponge ned

you looked down at me
then changed your mind and laughed
and opened the fridge and closed it and went back
to the chair

i love your hardness
it makes me all right
reminds me of something
a long time ago
but i just couldn’t have your baby
is what i tried to send
into the back of your head
out loud i said the change
was almost six dollars
i’ll put it on the counter

at work you were writing a report
for the south dakota department of transportation
about having dug up the oldest arrowhead
in the lower 48 states
the summer before,
when we met
“it’ll probably take fifteen years
to finish, but that’s pretty typical”
you said in the interview
for the rapid city journal

for some reason you let me stay in your bed that night
and even kept the radio off
but still it was hard to sleep
a car was tearing down mount rushmore road

we heard glass

and then birds

it was spring