Bengisu

“The Conditional

Say tomorrow doesn't come.
Say the moon becomes an icy pit.
Say the sweet-gum tree is petrified.
Say the sun's a foul black tire fire.
Say the owl's eyes are pinpricks.
Say the raccoon's a hot tar strain.
Say the shirt's plastic ditch-litter
Say the kitchen's a cow's corpse.
Say we never get to see it: bright
future, stuck like a bum star, never
coming close, never dazzling.
Say we never meet her. Never him.
Say we spend our last moments staring
at each other, hands knotted together,
clutching the dog, watching the sky burn.
Say, It doesn't matter. Say, That would be
enough. Say you'd still want this: us alive,
right there, feeling lucky.”
― Ada Limon, Bright Dead Things

“Isn't it funny? How the cold numbs everything but grief.
If we could light up the room with pain,

we'd be such a glorious fire.”
― Ada Limon, Bright Dead Things

“If I could come over here every day and howl and drool and have Mom wrestle me into submission like I'm possessed by a Catholic devil, I could sleep like a baby at night. If I could feel her light fingers gripping the back of my neck and be assured that I'm still holdable, then I might be able to function in this world.”
― Kate Brody, Rabbit Hole

“I thought I could die and be happy and be humbled
by luck of a first love and a first full-fledged fuck.”
― Ada Limon, Bright Dead Things