Instead, Off-singly

[I]

She never told me she was dying, but
how hard was that? She never told me


[II]

Some people won't exist. I'm a loaded mind.
You evolved between monsoons. You

a mother and a poet, a robust cloud string
sometimes a merry band of horizon

I wonder if I can explain a
modern day hitching post

a poem where I can see better. We lost you
I said. She said she would've let me know sooner

when she went. I'm always disappointed. I expect to know
when someone I love dies; it's like an engine

being in tune and suddenly
no 2/8. Where'd the timing
go? Exhaust calls, says thanks

for the gentle rhyme and I
juke for a mechanic.