lungs

all the women i’ve ever loved

flood my lungs

and stay

i am made

then unmade

by their loud

demands

from this one:

why have you not come

back to find me?

and from this one:

did i not love you enough

as a child?

and from her:

let me be the home

you are searching for

please?

all at once

a chorus of water

rushing

my heart swells

open and shut

open and shut

like a bruised eyelid

all these women

treading water

waiting for me

to choose