Tentatively Underneath
Poem by Kristin Y. Roybal
Art by Wesley Vara

Can I ask you pretty something
Something I remembered from yesterday
Can I cry on your shoulder
I have nowhere else to lay
My head
Out here in the misty fog
With piercing light blinding me
In front of a railway
It's headed straight for me
You must be underneath the ground
Or on your way there at least
When at last you lay beside me
We will both be
Six feet under or more
And until then I can't see
Blinded by my need to be
Insufficient to myself
By myself
Learning slowly the ways of the deceased
All I need is mercy
And all you need's a compass
When I don't reply
Just know that
I travelled very far
And ended up back here