She wondered if she could transform into a bear, or an ant underground, something that could burrow into the depths of the soil or rock and stay there for months in the winter, unconcerned with the cold or with cages.

When Jan reached four years into sixty, his daughter and her son flew off into the glorious first exploration past the Milky Way to somewhere called Z-1.

I forgot how to take off my shoes /
How do normal people /
Take off their shoes /

Aloe waited in the mailbox, shivering in the February freeze along with his three foster siblings, Cactus, Snake Plant, and Jade.

Panic Attack: WAKE UP THERE’S A BEAR

Me: what no there’s not

Panic Attack: BEARS EVERYWHERE

Success looks like crying at night /
when you’ve overcome the ticking /
of the clock, ever listing what it wants /

In that time between interesting things /
We Rests flourish /
During the whirling wheel /

Men also love scalp massages /
and trailed fingers in their hair /

The crimson leaf pile near the street drain /
Has a picture of reasons for you to skip down the walk /

A phantom muscle in my brain /
Works on weekends and overtime /
To convince me that I’m imminent /
Just that, imminent /

Reda hunched in her chair in the bright, cheery restaurant, her mouth dry, clenching her fists. A bear might as well have been lumbering towards her, the way her chest flip-flopped with nerves. She had no excuse.