i have always admired
your shoulders
the way you walk with confidence
and notice me with your gaze—
the me inside this cracking shell
i am your trembling chestnut
i have always admired
your shoulders
but give me the burning distraction
of your hands
© 2026 jennifer wagner
Ghostskulls and peppers
line brick-and-mortars
where Santa Fe licks heels of tourists
emptying their pockets of tin.
The warm, earthy scent of blue corn
tortillas gallops on high desert wind—
here, where chance remains
of another time find me—a castaway
in some longebegone
Puebloan city—
hungry for a taste of spice
as ancient as Eve.
© 2026 Jennifer Wagner
dVerse Poetics
