In grade five
I met a woman named Nancy
she was vintage perfume
and Christmas morning breakfast
And when she fell in love with a sailor
who was composed of sea salt and
fishing nets
she covered her head entirely with blue
barrettes
because she knew the ocean was no match for her
super
n
o
v
a

blue was his favorite color
and he loved her
more than ice loves m
elt
in
g

so on Sunday
when he didn’t
come down for dinner
she knew
those tattered fishing nets
took his rusty pirouettes of twine-s-e-w-n

sleep
talk
and his salty eyelashes
to a place with lacy skies
and Saturday morning cartoons

the next day

she painted her entire house blue
not because it was his favorite color
but to match
her
new

barrettes