You sing your caged bird song
a lonely trill that echoes in the hearts of mothers,
with a tug at familiar longings,
but the wisdom of a thousand shattered
fragments of love.
So fly. Go. I will be here to catch you.…
One time you count
and another might
count down the time
to find.
On this side of glass
the faces blur, lines
are reflected
in the headlights.
Equipped with the operator’s
manual it will make security
seem sure. As if you could solve
any problem:
flesh,
steel,
just hide from looking for yourself.…
for Mighty Mike McGee
Looking for the scrap in a day, a week,
but this one is too small and that one too weary.
Believing that it is possible to trade
now for later, but missing the magic of the present.…
I want to fix your algorithm, but all I accomplish
is complicating the mathematics between us.
See, my formula is full of prime numbers,
but you, you want the geometry of my angles to total something odd.
Line brackets up on either side to solve me, but you don’t need to,
you’re sure of the solution.…
The summer that:
we went tumbling down the Pemi
more times than I can count,
found comfort in charity bread,
spoke of our future
like we were picking
out constellations —
as if the future held
some magic, a way
to keep the thoughts of
the bottom falling out
held at bay.…
…
Man who knows how to dress
Like a woman, not in women’s clothes.
Voicing an opinion should always
be in the form of a question, or
with a request for agreement
added at the end of the opinion.
Sense of etiquette around my girlfriends
Essential.…
Dogs hang in my throat trying to push past my heart.
The angel disapproves of the terror
needing to be pulled out—
Shoulders cracking
in protest…
Whole bodies sobbing against this life.
Previous version published in Cantaraville Five…
Tall blonde looking
for: individual with body
mass index of 25 or better,
IQ must fall between 130-140,
Resting blood pressure should
not exceed 120/70, head
circumference of 25″- 30″
preferred.
Must have perfect lungs.
Previously published in Snow Monkey…
for Eric
If I knew that those Sunday-school stories I heard would become
a ball of uncertainty rolling around inside me,
if my parents hadn’t kicked me out for dating the youth pastor wannabe,
and I hadn’t moved in with the married lesbian.…