And Then the Sky Pulls Up in a Silver VW Polo

the sky announcesit has written a lecture
on domestic violence no one starts a family
with the intention of becoming
the violent dictator of that family
we get inside the car between drags
on a Silk Cut the sky takes the register
we head deeper and deeper into the desert
which i understand isn’t really a desert
but more an immersive representation
of history occasionally the sky stops
to collect a different member of my family
i love how the sky takes care
to lower the accessible ramp
i want to reach around the sky’s
broad shoulders i want to ask the sky
all my favorite questions soon enough
the car is uncomfortably full my nana
squeezes in next to me she looks young
and sunburnt and 100% not dead by suicide
she checks the buckle on my booster seat
when our shoulders smoosh together
i get a tingly feeling because this
is the first time that our skin has touched
i begin to worry i won’t have anything
interesting to say about the sky’s lecture
my nana tells me to stop being silly
after some time we arrive at a garden
giant eucalyptus trees for miles
my nana leads me by hand
to her favorite tree remember she says
to find your tree it’s very important
i know without asking that my nana
had to die to find her tree
she loves the sound of the wind
through its branches i make a pact
with my future i squeeze my nana’s hand
but she’s gone just the wind prehistoric
and the sky calling me back to the car