JANUARY 2020. 7234 miles from Chicago, China reports the first death from a novel coronavirus. There is no evidence it can spread among humans.
I'm commuting to school and two women on the train are
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How do immortals recognize
each other, you ask?
By our palimpsest of scars and wrinkles,
every inch of skin marked by the shooting
of stars, the spinning of the Earth
yielding under similarly marred fingertips.
By the taste of our mouths,
the dust of fallen empires,
dead dinosaur cells,
and myriad wines' noble rots
embedded in the ridges of our tongues
sucked clean at last.
By the look in our eyes,
a glimmer sharp as the edge
of a knife that has cut through
tender flesh and ripe strawberries alike.
A knife that slices you
a homecoming feast.
each other, you ask?
By our palimpsest of scars and wrinkles,
every inch of skin marked by the shooting
of stars, the spinning of the Earth
yielding under similarly marred fingertips.
By the taste of our mouths,
the dust of fallen empires,
dead dinosaur cells,
and myriad wines' noble rots
embedded in the ridges of our tongues
sucked clean at last.
By the look in our eyes,
a glimmer sharp as the edge
of a knife that has cut through
tender flesh and ripe strawberries alike.
A knife that slices you
a homecoming feast.