June 21, 2023
A Typical Day in the Life of Love
JC Reilly
__________
Love crawls from a hole
like a mouse in the pantry;
beware its droppings.
Love seeks its shadow
behind its back but can’t turn
fast enough to see.
Love hangs its sheet on
a line in the morning sun.
It snaps with the wind.
Love takes some sugar
in its tea, reads its tea leaves
with a skeptic’s eye
Love waits in gardens
beside phlox and peony,
pulls at tapered grass.
Love hides its fat face
in the bird bath, the water
cooling its red cheeks.
Love eats its weight in
fresh-made Pain au chocolat,
gains twelve extra pounds.
Love checks its datebook
to keep up with appointments,
not one to be late.
Love sits on a bench,
dives through a bag of peanuts,
throws some to the squirrels.
Love hopes you’ll stay here
in bed; tomorrow you can
breakfast together.
__________
JC Reilly’s most recent chapbook is Amo e Canto, which won the Sow’s Ear Poetry Prize. She serves as the managing editor of Atlanta Review. When she’s not writing, she plays tennis, crochets, and practices her Italian. Follow her @Aishatonu.
Posted in Boudin June '23 All Poetry Edition, Poetry and tagged in #boudin, #June '23 Edition, #mcneesereview, Poetry