How Much I Love You

Peter Balakian

when your shadow walks through the wall.

when my heart is a false beat

when throbbing moves around the room the way
floaters spin across the eye

when the pale green of wet grass
when the confusion of new leaves

when the brush strokes are blue

when the buds of azaleas spread across lawns

when the daylight is water.

No sign is clear, fully.

Stay there, I’ll find you.

Peter Balakian is the author of seven books of poems, most recently Ozone Journal, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (2016). He teaches at Colgate University.
Originally published:
April 1, 2019

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