Trickesternometry

Originally Published in So to Speak Journal

1+1
There is Coyote in the shape of me
holding a clay pot, collecting rainwater
I wish it had a hole. There is acid in the
rain, or so the non-locals say. The pot
will not hold, it will melt soon.

2+1
Coyote takes the full pot to Badger's home.
“What will I do with a pot of drowning
water?” She asks her husband. “I do
not know,” I reply. Coyote and Badger hold
hands and tip over the rainwater.

3-1
Every droplet is a memory.

∞
I want to dissolve the rain into salt. May
it protect the ghosts in my wounds.

0∞
Nothing pours out.

1+1
Coyote wants to crack the cistern. “It’s less
damage,” we say.

√I
We are no longer coyote-shaped. I slither to
the shards wanting to forget how to collect
rainwater. Seeking other places to drown.