being human differs between human beings
long for the serenity of tortoises before long
periods of standing and misunderstanding periods.
in history when bullets weren’t part of the story in
the end of the body endorphins end the
pain falling from ourselves the way fall paints
Saturdays with strawberry-stained scarves saturating
the air with clichés carefully crocheted to air the
grievance like a dead squirrel that in all our grief
we mistook for a piece of bark what a lovely mistake that we
get surprised by the unlikely beetle it is by surprises we get
to stay and caress the moment in our lap and stay to
do what is asked of us and so we ask what do
different human beings see in being human that’s so different
— Alistair Lam
