​I never know if 
I’m sending 
or receiving:

waves crackle 
and surge

like electric currents, 
traveling between
opposite poles. 

I picture someone 
I haven’t seen in years, 
then glimpse them

on the outer edge 
of the sidewalk:
a rocket firing
in my direction.

Hastily typed note
lands in my inbox: 
dropped by a
marionette’s hand 

and lowered 
on taut strings,
one syllable at a time.

I thought of you 
today, wondered 
if you survived.

Press invisible palms
against my cheeks, 
and you can make certain.

My heart still drums,
and my brain 
is an engine that 
never stops running.
​​
Leah Mueller is an indie writer and spoken word performer from Bisbee, Arizona. She is the author of ten prose and poetry books, published by numerous small presses. Her latest chapbook "Land of Eternal Thirst" (Dumpster Fire Press) was released in 2021. Leah’s work appears in Rattle, Midway Journal, Citron Review, The Spectacle, Miracle Monocle, Outlook Springs, Atticus Review, Your Impossible Voice, and elsewhere. Visit her website at www.leahmueller.org.
image: micah tindell via unsplash