leo agatetto does not exist

in the dream im always
chasing a yellow-bellied sap sucker
through a desert
desperate
to return it to a place it can thrive
or im weaving through dense rhododendrons
along a mountain creek
after a cactus wren
or im watching you
a sort of stranger
who I want to love
be married
improbably
to a man named Leo
who I learn
upon waking
much to my relief
simply does not exist