After the implosion
Don’t build a wall around your own suffering,
it may devour you from the inside.
— Frida Kahlo
I left the spade in the garden
jammed into the earth five days ago
It may be buried by now
for all I know
or it may have become uprooted
and sailed away with the wind
I don’t live in Kansas anymore
in fact I’m not quite sure where I am
some days it feels like somewhere
in the middle of Peloponnese
others in the heart of Sanremo
I’m finding getting to know
my new surroundings
to be a bit of a challenge
but I’ve committed myself
to make it work in the long run
having collapsed
all the walls around me
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved