I try not to include words
that would hurt you.

The trouble with that
is the limits to what I can say.

I can tell you that you
have meant a great deal to me.

          [As sandpaper means a great
          deal to the wood being ground

          down to sawdust, falling to
          pieces, plummeting in spirals

          to the cement, to lay there
          until swept away or rendered

          stale, molded, in little mounds
          never enough to combust.]

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L.M. Cole is a poet and artist residing in North Carolina. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming with Roi Fainéant, Corporeal, Bullshit Lit, The Bitchin’ Kitsch and others. Twitter @_scoops__