i ask the sun too much by Kristin Lueke
i ask the sun too much
Kristin Luekeeach plant i’ve kept alive so far i call my friend.
each of my friends has its own quiet prayer,
it’s called how i’d like to be cared for—for instance, from a distance, please & gently,
within reach, without expectation but this—
i will try to stay alive if you try to understand me.one is never not hungry for all my attention—
the gift of you bending you backwards
to please me. still another’s impossible,
erratic at best & unwilling to clarify—
you’ll just have to learn to learn what i want.what i want? is a room where the light finds me
easy & all that we need, we have.
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, Issue 113, 2025.
ABOUT KRISTIN LUEKE
Kristin Lueke is a Chicana poet, essayist, and creative strategist. Kristin is the author of the chapbooks here i show you a human heart (2025) and (in)different math (Dancing Girl Press, 2013). Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, as well as Best New Poets and Best of the Net, and appears in Sixth Finch, Wildness, HAD, LETTERS, Variant Lit, Poetry Society of New York, Frozen Sea, Maudlin House, and Heavy Feather Review, among others. She was a finalist for the 2024… (more)
Read more poems by Kristin Lueke • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Follow on Instagram • Bluesky • Website • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
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