What We’ll Remember

Written by Zoe Younessian

you can’t remember the last time 
you saw something ugly, 
only lime-colored turf with plastic pointing
the right ways. you saw elms in a row with
the bark painted on. you watered fake plants
and missed the real ones: daffodils erupting
like daggers, the roughness of a cat’s tongue.
you scolded the sky for the prettiness of
sunsets. pollution a thousand floating dahlias.
the forecast responded, that’s just the way
things are. you know everything burns more
beautiful.