What Love Cannot Do by January Gill O'Neil
It cannot save itself when it expires
like a tire’s slow leak. It cannot bring back
the greediness of youth
mouth on mouth,
skin on skin, that gnawing,
that longing you carried
until the next time
and then there is no next time.
You never see it coming but always see it leaving.
It waits by the door, bags packed,
full of stones from your life.
What it can do is mark
the distance between Point A and Point B,
which feels like a galaxy, every star you ever wished upon
imploding before your eyes. Art by Maggie Chiang Recommended listening: Brand New Start - Little Joy Links of the Day: Mesmerising Mass Sheep Herding Pianu Visceral (NSFW) The toy paintings of ancient Japan