Maggie's Comet

I'm a disappointing older sister
silent at the winter station
home
from everything
I still pole the canals alone in the afternoon with the radio on
to feel close to him
but hey
aren't I also Mom's dessert?
a cool whip?
and didn't I draw a smile on the sun?
I can only talk with my eyes closed
only right by accident
and don't know where I am except for fun
just glad I got the red kind
and I miss our black spot,
isn't that weird?
sometimes I sleep in his snowsuit and lose a few minutes
all weekend touched a paperback I found in his couch like it was him
and yeah
I'm strong
I'm inevitable, a hunch, an experiment, lunch,
I'm a carwash on Sepulveda
and the fumes and the slaves and the patrons too
I'm an illionaire
my light shines whether or not it deserves to
my womb kicks with or without
I'm a magic wand waiting to be stolen
a neon sign only you can plug in
some people say you shouldn't have a plan b
but I have them from a to z
and do them all at once not 1-2-3
last night I jumped from a trampoline
and didn't come back down
world do you hear me
I'm single again
this is your invitation

By Maggie Sullivan