Betsy Robin Schwartz

never dove without checking for water

never plumbed depths

never tasted watermelon

never ate poison

never skipped a stair

never shut a door

never wanted bad dreams

never good in bed

never stared in mirrors

never wore stupid clothes

never sat still happy

never read a book

never sang off key

never lost a tooth

never found home

never missed the rent

never leaped a canyon

never walked in fire

never broke a bone

never grew a pain

never cured diseases

never thirsted from fever

never fed faith

never had fleas

never laughed at disaster

never screamed at signs

never took a new route

never rode risk

never ran in place

never won a pulse race

never a heartbeat

never a verb