I think my neighbours know
me – we’ll often pass at ends
of roads – gates – on fields –
dog-walked space [our pups
wrestle & growl] – I offload a
touch too much [they put up
with my gyres of gripes] – My
hope is they do not mope as
I do – they remain paired – as
happier souls are so – intact –
& we joke – well I do – about
failings of known marriages –
they are not [married] – free
in being less burdened [I do
not think there’ll be babies –
they’ll not breed now] – this
is going tits up – no room for
any long-term responsibility
[reservoirs & rivers are dried
enough to fuck harvests] – a
life of choosing less is given
& consumed – this moment
is now fate – My neighbours
know me as we pass quietly
with our exchanges of nods