When she left, Anita took Mom's valise, the round one with the wooden handle from Eaton's department store. Mom was furious. She'd had it on hold at the store for weeks while she earned enough to ... [+]
After, under the pylon,
power lines buzzing,
she told about sperm whales
that dive to such depths
the pressure and low oxygen
for the largest brain on Earth
is like asphyxiation sex
their bodies shrink and wrinkle
in the druggy pressure, they pound
sound waves to navigate,
the way we navigate a dream
the giant squid have arms like skirts
and dance out of reach as the whales
float belly-up, arch-backed
like a bolero, to draw them close
and blow a sound kiss to swoon
them and draw them like spaghetti
into their teeth
and the squid don't care,
because they have been loved.
