What ingratitude
this nebulous future
for me
that I reject
from you.

I tally all the ways
I fight your fragility:
walksweightssocceryogaboarding.

Applaud myself
the connections
that insulate me,
how they are devoid
of
manipulation
control
fear.

Tell myself
all of this is enough
to outrun
what I see in you.

But –
a mind?
genetics?
to change
the course
of that inevitable
decay?

Well-