“The left hand is thousands of years older
than the right, that’s why most people
still don’t know how to use it.”
—Dean Young (from “Dragonfly”)

You hold a number,
no, a number sign, no,
a hash, no, hashtag
in your left hand.

Ready to fling it
over the chainlink fence.

You hope it won’t behave
like a boomerang,

like an old lover
who returns
one too many times
without an alibi or straight line.

Each prong
has a parallel mate
no matter how
you flip it. Four simple lines

become a safety net
to catch you
when you leap.
A perch is a perch

is a lover
of freshwater

gasps. You hope
the neighboring bracket

pair makes a better
flotation device than hugger.