if we survive this
there will be no six feet to mourn over
only the decay

as it’s scraped from our bones
down into a small pile of been,
a personal plot to plant what’s left of hope in

before the threat of after is made honest,
will be a moment beside the anguish
to choose at the alter of every You they have known

what you’re going to grind down and fertilize that self
sacrifice in, I
have been to every greenhouse

in this region to confirm a theory
that the smallest cherry blossom will bud despite the frost
and the flimsy new leaves all curled into themselves, too

what may appear out of thin air
from the marl begrime
becomes

clinging to the warmth in was
to confront the if in what lies ahead is
to caterwaul from the core and unfurl

---

this is the title poem from my new limited-print chapbook,

to Unfurl – About the Chapbook

Contributing Artists:
Killian Cao
JingleJude
Gabriela Rhinier
Gabrielle Marin
Ung Fio
W.W. Denslow