Shannon Costello

Wandering curling tendrils of cucumber vine grasped
At delicate lacy leaves of nodding tomato plant-
Less than friendly motive here, fragile leaf now firmly clasped-
“Come dance with me, my brother!”
Gardener, fearing loss of juicy fruit, luscious, ripe, and red
Drinks in smell of verdant garden growing in rich turned-up soil
Knot untying, gently prying tender leaf from [...]

The cathedral arches high—
dominating grandly,
ornate in stony magnificence,
tremendous.
People mill about—
chattering happying,
[...]

I used to be
content to lurk
below the surface—
hiding in my own shadow,
but then CJ went away
and I was lost and lonely
so I left my shelter
and came up to the surface
to see what there was to see
and I saw me
talking to myself
and my car
and posting on the fringe.

There’s a cat-shaped hole in my life
Not as raw, but definitely there
It swells out when I come home and open the door
It hurts me when I walk into the study
He used to raise his head and give a plaintive mew
Asking for love
A cat-shaped hole, but something else, too
I’ve learned something-
Learned that stories have endings
Learned about [...]