Summary

Poem 125. First person. The speaker wonders whether she in fact does not deserve “nice things” because she is being punished for doing bad things she has forgotten about. Drawing: a face with its eyes closed; with representations of plants taking the place of hair; and a combination of rain and tears falling (147).

Poem 126. “the thing about writing is / i can’t tell if it’s healing / or destroying me” (148).

Poem 127 warns against holding onto something that does not want you. Drawing: a large tree, most of its leaves having fallen off.

Poem 128. “you must enter a relationship / with yourself / before anyone else” (150).

Poem 129. Addressing “you” as either herself or the reader, the speaker suggests that “you” deserve more than love that adds suffering to life, adding that life is motion and that the healthiest thing to do for the heart is...