“I want this poem to be nicer
than life. I want you to look at it
when anxiety zigzags your stomach
and the last tranquilizer is gone
and you need someone to tell you
I'll be here when you want me
like the sound inside a shell.”

~ Stephen Dunn

You are a traveler,
you know the open, hostile smiles
of those stuck in their lives.
Make a fire.

~ Stephen Dunn