Queen

Termites mate for life. A queen

finds her king: in a barn,

a fallen fence post, the southwest corner

of your childhood home, and she births

an entire kingdom. We sometimes think of damage

this way:

childhood lost

heart disease

algae bloom

David, you told me this

(who knows of termites?)

I had just broken

my foot 

from jumping off a dock, we sat in the waiting room,

hands intertwined.  I didn’t think, 

then, how much it would hurt.  You kissed 

my fingers, called me royalty.

“Queen termite,” I said.  I learned termite queens

have the longest lifespan of any insect: 30 to 50 years.

Last week, my sister took her shoes off and danced

on the Santa Monica pier. 

She asked me what hurts?

And I told her it was you, 

David.  You’ve been gone for months.