Our Globetrotting Poet series features the work of Amanda Dettmann, who currently lives in New York City for which this love poem was inspired by.
I save my love for the thrown out flowers in Broadway dumpsters.
I save my love for China Town cookie wrappers who never see a fortune.
I save my love for that Mike Wazowski lunchbox wiggling halfway down a pothole.
I save my love for cedar and sandalwood candles in SoHo boutiques, the ones that sit behind Champagne Toast and Cinnamon Coffee forever.
I save my love for empty siracha bottles on the loose,
those de-pearled necklace beads floating between subway cars and sewage,
one pregnancy test unused but
wrapper-less and winking.
My love is saved
in a sock. The one I ripped running
to you in three feet of JFK sleet.
My love is saved
in a check. The one unpaid
but still sitting on our dumpling table.
My love is saved
in a parcheesi board. The one flipped
in our last game
fingers competing
who could end up home
without leaving
Saved
is my
love
an apple
in a street vendor’s
wooden crate
bruised
yet
held
