I meet happiness in the garden
& her handshake is an embrace.
The second mystery is that she smiles
the vowels of my name
the way I wish everyone would.
She invites me to stand in the sun with her.
I trust her spine & squint.
She tells me
a fence is something waiting for a tree
to fall through & we look
at the row of yellow wood. I imagine
heaven crackling & losing my spine for her.
Without it, I can’t say
that in the summer, my family grows
green beans long enough to tie things
together. I can’t ask
what season she plans to be back.
Noreen Ocampo (she/her) is a Filipina American writer and poet based in metro-Atlanta. She studies English, film, and media at Emory University and currently writes for COUNTERCLOCK and {m}aganda magazine. She is also a regular contributor for Marías at Sampaguitas. Say hi on Twitter @maybenoreen!