Cypress
I don't remember Galveston, the F-
150s prowling---Lone star in hand---
the same sand as turtle and lizard,
kiddies with eyes in their buckets.
I don't recall the dolphins in thrall
to drilling rigs and intracoastal ships,
the odor of petroleum in the breeze,
down I-45 to the coastal refineries,
end-on-end car dealerships.
I don't remember that seawall,
sargassum weed heaved by trebucket,
who knows, thriven on fertilizer
in the runoff from the heartland.
Crosses all over, sans serif.
---Ange Mlinko
---found in Distant Mandate: Poems (2017)