car music

i cried  
in front of my manager 
and it wasn’t  
comfortable  
it was  
the opposite 
of uncomfortable

just passed  
two goats  
headbutting  
by the expressway 
teaching each other 
common risk  
or self-preservation

i did not want  
a strand of new hair  
to tickle  
my old face! 
it was just a thought 
without a face 
to cry on 

i think i grieve 
differently 
like everybody else

i know exactly 
what i cannot mean 
at all times  
and that seems a bit holy  
and disgusting 
like marriage 
or drinking alone

i’ll unliken that  
to this 
then to now 
then sleep 
find myself  
living still  
on both sides of the bed

and when i look back 
on the new dream  
and feel so  
ahead 
i’m pulling tears  
from an ancient 
moment

breaking through  
in front of nothing  
like no god 
everywhere

Amy Marguerite

Amy Marguerite (she/her) is a poet and peer support worker living in Pukekohe. Amy’s debut collection over under fed was published by Auckland University Press in March 2025. Her essay on the new generation of Aotearoa poets features in Te Whāriki: Reading Ten New Poets from Aotearoa, published by Auckland University Press in October 2025.