Jodi Balas

My Lover’s in Texas

My lover’s in Texas–
Left with a white flag
and wet bones,
no luggage.
Said he was going for
a while–a while ago he
said he was going

to bring back monarchs
and bluebonnets–
the kind that never shift
direction once they’re planted.
Said he was going to
recreate the Alamo,
said he was going to
find a green horse.

It’s been a while since
he said he was going–
told me he’d be back
in a dream. I told him
he’s been by the Gulf a
hundred times or more
and still can’t concede
the rock from the sand;
the sea from the shore.

I found a picture of
us inside an old sweater;
connected the freckles on
his face that form like a
constellation after the
day blisters over.

So I counted them like I
count the years I’ve been
holding onto the tail end
of a kite. My lover’s in Texas –
found himself there tugging
on the seam of the sky.

Jodi Balas is a 35 year-old female, and poet-at-heart, who has been using her recent Autism Spectrum Condition as a catalyst to cultivate a ton of new work that she hopes will inspire many writers and readers.