When you make // bountiful & indefatigable by Frank G. Karioris

There is life, now,

with banana bread.

Even

though outside it seems that

all one can

see are spaces broken,

&

inside, again,

we see people losing, themselves.

With those now gone,

mixing with

those who refuse to go away,

& the tune of Benny Goodman

hammering on over speckled speakers

whose eyes have seen god

in people’s shared

hands,

their eyes now made full

by acts of togetherness

driven against those

who push us towards cliff edges.

When you make

the sweet dough,

its breadyness soon to fill

the slightly dented tin,

the first thing to do

is to smash the banana in the batter,

making sure to pick the brownest one;

& then watch as

it rises & changes into

something unmatchable.

Some people

add nuts

in their recipe,

I prefer mine without, to keep

that texture that allows you to simply forget

anything other than to breath & enjoy.

---

Frank G. Karioris (he/they/him/them) is a writer and educator based in San Francisco whose writing addresses issues of friendship, masculinity, and gender. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Pittsburgh Poetry Journal, Collective Unrest, Maudlin House, Sooth Swarm Journal, and Crêpe & Penn amongst others. They are a regular contributor to Headline Poetry & Press.

Twitter: @FrankGKarioris