After Receiving the Super Power of My Choice, by James J. Stevenson

I asked my dog
which ability
she would have chosen,
and she said the power
to cry at the beauty
of a memory
of a phrase
of a chord
of a name.
That’s why she runs
to my lap whenever
she sees my eyes redden;
it’s not to offer comfort,
but to drink the potion
of tears from my face
loosened over
——–half-sick of shadows
——–Am7
——–Candace.
In choosing to speak with animals
I learned that I’ve had
a super power all along.

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My poems, stories, and comics have been published in a bunch of anthologies and journals, but the quickest way to see what I’m up to is @writelightning on most social media. I frequently post haiku+photography (often of my Star Wars action figures…) with over 400 in my archive. All my social media links are at writewithlightning.com