The girls on their walking calves
their train car balance
come here to make a life
but walk into this half light
through this haze and shine
checker their skin
it's theirs and a stranger's
gain their bodies for their minds
some coming kind
some going kind
of sight
on their walking calves
and latest train car balance
they ride.
jan 29, 12
Listening Thru a Glass, Darkly
My hearing has not been good lately
the kettle world turned up too long
i watch the reflection of my hand
in its streaked silver
i watch your reflection in the gathered condensation
when you tell me what you see
i make a noise that means, i'm listening
it's not a lie, but it is a dream.
jan23, 2012
the kettle world turned up too long
i watch the reflection of my hand
in its streaked silver
i watch your reflection in the gathered condensation
when you tell me what you see
i make a noise that means, i'm listening
it's not a lie, but it is a dream.
jan23, 2012
Wind and Rain Letter
What have you done wind and rain?
What have you scattered into rivulets, into rivers
What have you sent through the clouds, blue as blood
What have you strummed and rung
What have you sung through to a cry
What have you flayed and staked
What have you turned out and smashed
and dragged, tooth and nail
What have you thrown, doors and windows
and bets and matches
What have you blown out?
mar 2012
What have you scattered into rivulets, into rivers
What have you sent through the clouds, blue as blood
What have you strummed and rung
What have you sung through to a cry
What have you flayed and staked
What have you turned out and smashed
and dragged, tooth and nail
What have you thrown, doors and windows
and bets and matches
What have you blown out?
mar 2012
Winter Pieta
Fastened and bound
in denim and wool
in denim and wool
days on days in succession
almost procession
almost ceremony
mutual aggression
Ribs clenched against cold
and the earth's own body
packed tighter and tighter
against ours
We tensile march through one another
steadily toward denser degrees
limestone into marble
veined with crushed sediment
At last a winter Pieta
one as crucified as the other.
dec 2011
Dragon Guts
Track brindles our bodies
until
the shadow of a train belly blots them
What once was sound
swallows whole
flocks of thought
and walk and word
And down that throat
for the known now
stretched to a shout
we are dragon guts
dragon tongue
dragon song
april 2012
Physically they flicker
under
now not nowuntil
the shadow of a train belly blots them
What once was sound
swallows whole
flocks of thought
and walk and word
And down that throat
for the known now
stretched to a shout
we are dragon guts
dragon tongue
dragon song
april 2012
Any Other Word
i forget my name
comes the end of the page
and a pause, too long
love comma
a blank margin, generous
as a dry mouth
rough tongue
it slides around
gelatinous ink
waiting to be wrung
nothing rings
love comma
nothing
love comma
hole
love comma
margin
love comma
i hope you know.
if it were any other word
i could skip it.
mar 7, 12
comes the end of the page
and a pause, too long
love comma
a blank margin, generous
as a dry mouth
rough tongue
it slides around
gelatinous ink
waiting to be wrung
nothing rings
love comma
nothing
love comma
hole
love comma
margin
love comma
i hope you know.
if it were any other word
i could skip it.
mar 7, 12
Grass Eaters
To our lips
we sucked
at one another's hands
inside caves light stained
ingrown wire and corrugated beams
little boy memories
layered like worlds
shifting plate and sinew
among us stone
and marbled selves
eyes wide color squeezed
language stretched to fray
composed in jerks
crumbled of sudden
fallen through mirrors
in betweens multiplying
like sobs
To our lips
we pulled
at one another's grapnel cables.
mar 7, 2012
we sucked
at one another's hands
inside caves light stained
ingrown wire and corrugated beams
little boy memories
layered like worlds
shifting plate and sinew
among us stone
and marbled selves
eyes wide color squeezed
language stretched to fray
composed in jerks
crumbled of sudden
fallen through mirrors
in betweens multiplying
like sobs
To our lips
we pulled
at one another's grapnel cables.
mar 7, 2012
Our Bruise
The bruise you put under my lip
tucked up in the thin shade
did not clot
but burrowed deeper through
made a swell against
my hidden teeth
ached pressed into them
seared when i washed my mouth
hot with mouthful
after mouthful
dragged itself along the side of my tongue
back further than i can examine
arced into the smooth cavity over my throat
and fell or rolled down to all my weaknesses
pooling into the spaces where i am missing
spaces i coil around, tightly, pinching them numb
until even the arches i rely on
sing in tremble
from the joint of my toes to the heel
anchored and dense
your bruise rings even there.
mar 7, 2012
tucked up in the thin shade
did not clot
but burrowed deeper through
made a swell against
my hidden teeth
ached pressed into them
seared when i washed my mouth
hot with mouthful
after mouthful
dragged itself along the side of my tongue
back further than i can examine
arced into the smooth cavity over my throat
and fell or rolled down to all my weaknesses
pooling into the spaces where i am missing
spaces i coil around, tightly, pinching them numb
until even the arches i rely on
sing in tremble
from the joint of my toes to the heel
anchored and dense
your bruise rings even there.
mar 7, 2012
Signified
Look for secrets
the leaves caught in the amber,
age-old eyes
the tongue weighed
on your back teeth
how close the bones huddle for warmth
and the space the skin leaves to fill in
it makes sense
in how many times the shadows
of your statue multiply
the sentences you string
still lie along a plane
but one i didn't see before
the measured, poured sheet of their silences
the leaves caught in the amber,
age-old eyes
the tongue weighed
on your back teeth
how close the bones huddle for warmth
and the space the skin leaves to fill in
it makes sense
in how many times the shadows
of your statue multiply
the sentences you string
still lie along a plane
but one i didn't see before
the measured, poured sheet of their silences
A Room Not My Own
I've chosen a room not my own
other voices flicker along its walls
and crack like static across the ceiling
hot with their requests
cold with their forgetfulness
but it is my room
i lick the seals of the doors
i pad the mattress with more sleep
watch the cracks grow umbrage
awe the native shadows
I've chosen this room
1, 5, 12
other voices flicker along its walls
and crack like static across the ceiling
hot with their requests
cold with their forgetfulness
but it is my room
i lick the seals of the doors
i pad the mattress with more sleep
watch the cracks grow umbrage
awe the native shadows
I've chosen this room
1, 5, 12
Along the Spokes
no resolve
i've worn out my body
i've worn out my heart
pink with old blood
i've worn out time
hung on lines
washed, wrung, stiff
dislocated by the limbs
pushed apart and soldered
to the empty hole in a hub
no resolve
i fall along the spokes to this space
i've worn out my body
i've worn out my heart
pink with old blood
i've worn out time
hung on lines
washed, wrung, stiff
dislocated by the limbs
pushed apart and soldered
to the empty hole in a hub
no resolve
i fall along the spokes to this space
Winter Fly
the winter fly
on a lamp shade
it lived this long
for this
to be seen
to die against light
its wings a new shade
to read by
on a lamp shade
it lived this long
for this
to be seen
to die against light
its wings a new shade
to read by
The Day After Day
Like smoke attracted to bodies
it unmans us
unsalts us
only pale food between us
your mint tongue
my ash throat
my favorite feast
the flame leans toward glass.
I am a rich man
sucking Lazarus' finger
in what must be
the day after day.
1, 5, 2012
it unmans us
unsalts us
only pale food between us
your mint tongue
my ash throat
my favorite feast
the flame leans toward glass.
I am a rich man
sucking Lazarus' finger
in what must be
the day after day.
1, 5, 2012
All the Ancient of Days
the small of my back is made of wrenches
i imagine yours of wrens
my wrists and elbows clock hands
and yours cracked marble
my neck of broken limbs
and yours of barnacles
my face is of dust
yours must be of spit
my insides made of time
and yours of all the days
1, 5, 12
i imagine yours of wrens
my wrists and elbows clock hands
and yours cracked marble
my neck of broken limbs
and yours of barnacles
my face is of dust
yours must be of spit
my insides made of time
and yours of all the days
1, 5, 12
In the Small and Still
i'm quieter
did you wait for this
i'm back inside
you're so polite
after all the notes
and lists
and orders
i've taken
i've taken refuge now
you can pass
i won't ask
more than your palm
more than your back
jan 5, 2012
did you wait for this
i'm back inside
you're so polite
after all the notes
and lists
and orders
i've taken
i've taken refuge now
you can pass
i won't ask
more than your palm
more than your back
jan 5, 2012
So Help You God
Go on unfold
a waxed map in your hands
you pen its insides
you spell its name
you fear what you've made
as if it's empty, it stays
mountain on mountain
wood stuck into wood
wildgrass against wildgrass
ingrown in creases.
Your hand on its cover
a vow a curse of truth
you swear to tell
and nothing but.
jan 5, 2012
a waxed map in your hands
you pen its insides
you spell its name
you fear what you've made
as if it's empty, it stays
mountain on mountain
wood stuck into wood
wildgrass against wildgrass
ingrown in creases.
Your hand on its cover
a vow a curse of truth
you swear to tell
and nothing but.
jan 5, 2012
Sway
The wind is patient in the dark
giving in to trees
holding them
rocking them
darkly
as their own shadows would
singing nothing
as it is all to say
aspirating
into their coming sobs
rocking their limbs in hers
the little ones
thought themselves big this year
sway all the way
to where their trunks spread
over the ground
and probably on
the wind
gives up to the trees
to rock them, darkly.
jan 5, 2012
giving in to trees
holding them
rocking them
darkly
as their own shadows would
singing nothing
as it is all to say
aspirating
into their coming sobs
rocking their limbs in hers
the little ones
thought themselves big this year
sway all the way
to where their trunks spread
over the ground
and probably on
the wind
gives up to the trees
to rock them, darkly.
jan 5, 2012
Another Breath Poem
Breath
sickled scythed
and bound
to be baled
tindered
and whetted
turned into basins
to hold new breath
tall and swaying
from bare slain
bodies asleep
1, 4, 12
sickled scythed
and bound
to be baled
tindered
and whetted
turned into basins
to hold new breath
tall and swaying
from bare slain
bodies asleep
1, 4, 12
The Rounds
Her face is a clock
as is his
overlayed on one another
the clicks they make
the twisting gears
all seen
in sync and out
pale and dark and audible
as they make the rounds.
jan 4, 12
as is his
overlayed on one another
the clicks they make
the twisting gears
all seen
in sync and out
pale and dark and audible
as they make the rounds.
jan 4, 12
Odyssian
the sins i'll sing
to my children
will be odyssian
and plenty.
their ears will fill
with marvels
and revel
enough to send their dreams ashambling.
my days will march
loose hems they'll catch
and when they stop for breath
my children will still be itching.
jan4, 12
to my children
will be odyssian
and plenty.
their ears will fill
with marvels
and revel
enough to send their dreams ashambling.
my days will march
loose hems they'll catch
and when they stop for breath
my children will still be itching.
jan4, 12
Bunsen
the way
to cool a heated iron
is to hold it to your chest
by both hands
your body needing
always lapping heat
will take the burn in
pore by pore
until the material
is innocuous to your grip
what is not tinder is flint.
jan 4, 12
to cool a heated iron
is to hold it to your chest
by both hands
your body needing
always lapping heat
will take the burn in
pore by pore
until the material
is innocuous to your grip
what is not tinder is flint.
jan 4, 12
Levitation
leaves, piles, burn high
if it can be called fire
rather smoke twine, ghost thread
spindle rise
mortar, pestle
crush steeped
shadows of trees
against our bodies lying by.
dec 22, 11
if it can be called fire
rather smoke twine, ghost thread
spindle rise
mortar, pestle
crush steeped
shadows of trees
against our bodies lying by.
dec 22, 11
Christmas Night
The house behind me
behind a door shut just nearly
whirs - deaf and deafening.
here
i hear geese
coyotes
street lamps sentient
have i moved outside of this
or has it moved from outside of me?
dec 25, 11
behind a door shut just nearly
whirs - deaf and deafening.
here
i hear geese
coyotes
street lamps sentient
have i moved outside of this
or has it moved from outside of me?
dec 25, 11
Chaser
what you've said
is what you would
but what you will
will be what i taste
without these words
to wash them down
dec 23, 2011
is what you would
but what you will
will be what i taste
without these words
to wash them down
dec 23, 2011
One Million
you have one million shadows
slightly resembling you
your lines
and planes
your neck
and collarbones
when you build your fire
when you lean your face to it
when you blow evenly under its ribs
and sit at its feet
in this light
you are a million
and one
Sept 10, 2011
slightly resembling you
your lines
and planes
your neck
and collarbones
when you build your fire
when you lean your face to it
when you blow evenly under its ribs
and sit at its feet
in this light
you are a million
and one
Sept 10, 2011
Never in Capitals
NEVER carved and slash inked
in the metal below
a train window, last car
fleeing the gorges
glass and steel
and vowing just NEVER
in the metal below
a train window, last car
fleeing the gorges
glass and steel
and vowing just NEVER
Holy Hell
holy hell
you speckled dog
you turned the ashes
in my mouth to sweet
something i don't want to swallow yet
but the blue
under my skin
to brine.
your black nose
and deep ears
filled with me
and filled me in
and under my skin
holy hell
i wanted to fall
and grow there under your paws
but not crossed
shadowed homeless birds
or you as you stalk
uncovering
where they come from
unbraiding the grass
blue in my wrists
do you smell the trail
do you come or run
and guard your neck
nov 26, 2011
you speckled dog
you turned the ashes
in my mouth to sweet
something i don't want to swallow yet
but the blue
under my skin
to brine.
your black nose
and deep ears
filled with me
and filled me in
and under my skin
holy hell
i wanted to fall
and grow there under your paws
but not crossed
shadowed homeless birds
or you as you stalk
uncovering
where they come from
unbraiding the grass
blue in my wrists
do you smell the trail
do you come or run
and guard your neck
nov 26, 2011
Currency
currency in
trampled cigars spent
measured in
how sick i get
when full
exchanged for
sunken shoulders
trying with their all
to make room
the shape the shakes
of my body take
given and taken in
behind a wall
from the wind
hand to handed
in tight doorways
lent
trampled cigars spent
measured in
how sick i get
when full
exchanged for
sunken shoulders
trying with their all
to make room
the shape the shakes
of my body take
given and taken in
behind a wall
from the wind
hand to handed
in tight doorways
lent
Chinese Tourists in the Park
The Chinese men stroll so close
their knuckles knock
and though the darks of their eyes
are not the ones i miss
in confusion i conflate
all darknesses alike
and wish my hand
could knock against theirs
too close to avoid it
as we break new language in
their knuckles knock
and though the darks of their eyes
are not the ones i miss
in confusion i conflate
all darknesses alike
and wish my hand
could knock against theirs
too close to avoid it
as we break new language in
Land of Mine
this land of mine
not benevolent or civilized
but i will train your eyes
to see
my trees are filled with onyx crows
their roots tangle with pitch and sloe
the blood here doesn't run, it blows
but i will teach you how to breathe
you may not just go where you will
the hills leaden darker, not lighter, beyond hills
but i will teach you how to abandon feel
your way to me
i've built scaffolds over the deepest parts
when you're exhausted i'll build wheeled carts
but don't be disgusted with the dark
it's the only way my land knows to be
not benevolent or civilized
but i will train your eyes
to see
my trees are filled with onyx crows
their roots tangle with pitch and sloe
the blood here doesn't run, it blows
but i will teach you how to breathe
you may not just go where you will
the hills leaden darker, not lighter, beyond hills
but i will teach you how to abandon feel
your way to me
i've built scaffolds over the deepest parts
when you're exhausted i'll build wheeled carts
but don't be disgusted with the dark
it's the only way my land knows to be
Once Lives
Are the leaves kicked
layers of integrity
once part of a whole
once lives
layers of garment skin
ribbed and thin
rubbed weak
down to bits
or curled like exhaustion
in lungs
flattened like exhaustion
in eyes
layers of integrity
once part of a whole
once lives
layers of garment skin
ribbed and thin
rubbed weak
down to bits
or curled like exhaustion
in lungs
flattened like exhaustion
in eyes
Cloudcover
In this town of angles, lines
the clouds roll over
barrel chested but mute of thunder
staying to the margins
we'll never build into
their dissolute shadow dissolving light
reminding us we are spherical
our straight legs and strong
rely on arches
buckle over the brim
lean into the bend
lie like sickles in our sleep
the paths we drive
only seem level
but always bow
always carry us intentionally
back
around, arriving at the place
we set out to escape.
Find old bones
of our own limbs
torn from us
to make the getaway.
We find them precious again.
Though no memory
of the pain they bled from us then.
the clouds roll over
barrel chested but mute of thunder
staying to the margins
we'll never build into
their dissolute shadow dissolving light
reminding us we are spherical
our straight legs and strong
rely on arches
buckle over the brim
lean into the bend
lie like sickles in our sleep
the paths we drive
only seem level
but always bow
always carry us intentionally
back
around, arriving at the place
we set out to escape.
Find old bones
of our own limbs
torn from us
to make the getaway.
We find them precious again.
Though no memory
of the pain they bled from us then.
Rocking Sea
sails sun tattered
wind pushes through
on its way without you
alone you rock yourself to sleep
or something like it
in a crib of moaning waves
wind pushes through
on its way without you
alone you rock yourself to sleep
or something like it
in a crib of moaning waves
Slow Travel
Our thoughts have habits
of slow travel
winding weeks making a way
re-establishing the road,
gravel up, each time
keeping it firm
no matter the miles
keeping it straight.
So forgive the wasted time
now that you're here
i'm used to caring for your words
as pilgrims resting from travel
i've put them in my mouth
to keep them warm
i've taken them in my pockets
to keep them awake
and i've kept silent
as they stretch their aches.
Forgive me if my jaw locks
now like a blank page
when you're gone
these powers will return
just when you're out of sight
i'll remember how to curse
and regret not practicing
talk in real time.
But for now even curses
click hollow barreled
until i've filled them up
with that road.
nov 12, 11
of slow travel
winding weeks making a way
re-establishing the road,
gravel up, each time
keeping it firm
no matter the miles
keeping it straight.
So forgive the wasted time
now that you're here
i'm used to caring for your words
as pilgrims resting from travel
i've put them in my mouth
to keep them warm
i've taken them in my pockets
to keep them awake
and i've kept silent
as they stretch their aches.
Forgive me if my jaw locks
now like a blank page
when you're gone
these powers will return
just when you're out of sight
i'll remember how to curse
and regret not practicing
talk in real time.
But for now even curses
click hollow barreled
until i've filled them up
with that road.
nov 12, 11
If Still Green
If our mouths are still
a bit green
they'll ripen by then
they'll dry by then
they'll fall by then
they'll build by then
with a tiny heart of air
by then they'll crack and light
together they'll ignite by then
nov 8, 11
a bit green
they'll ripen by then
they'll dry by then
they'll fall by then
they'll build by then
with a tiny heart of air
by then they'll crack and light
together they'll ignite by then
nov 8, 11
Don't Let the Rain Put This Out
the light rain hisses and spits
on a wall of blazing vine
dying. fingers smolder at the ends
of a warm body. the world
is the emotions there are no words
for. here the word earth strains
it lies in taut grafts
inflamed by our need to say what
we cannot. only strike
and send up flares.
nov 7, 11
on a wall of blazing vine
dying. fingers smolder at the ends
of a warm body. the world
is the emotions there are no words
for. here the word earth strains
it lies in taut grafts
inflamed by our need to say what
we cannot. only strike
and send up flares.
nov 7, 11
The Backs of Books
I've turned all the books around
in shame in fear of their faces
to know what i've been doing
The days the same
their dawns waiting
nightfalls crashing
I'm huddled for cover
hidden in chatter
distracted and wound
oct 30, 11
in shame in fear of their faces
to know what i've been doing
The days the same
their dawns waiting
nightfalls crashing
I'm huddled for cover
hidden in chatter
distracted and wound
oct 30, 11
Shut Traps
we don't believe each other
we shut our traps
unsure which side is in or out
only of the lock here
my reasons and yours
between
my body and yours
and as long as it takes my hands
to rub down these walls
or world for another pair
it's fine. they won't be yours
i'm looking for. they won't be anyone's
unless that one can see my fists hide things
and leave them closed. leave me be
let me sing and swear
i want them empty
but never pry them from their gnarl
nov 6, 11
we shut our traps
unsure which side is in or out
only of the lock here
my reasons and yours
between
my body and yours
and as long as it takes my hands
to rub down these walls
or world for another pair
it's fine. they won't be yours
i'm looking for. they won't be anyone's
unless that one can see my fists hide things
and leave them closed. leave me be
let me sing and swear
i want them empty
but never pry them from their gnarl
nov 6, 11
With Thimbles
If our bodies go away
we sew them onto our feet
in flight
we know them as shadows
multiplying
a light abandoned trail
we sew them onto our feet
in flight
we know them as shadows
multiplying
a light abandoned trail
Dunes
the clouds on her thighs
make dunes
they hit the moon
she sifts them
hard-won time
she undoes them
new things
shows them
for what they are
what they are to be
from now
from here on
nov 6, 11
make dunes
they hit the moon
she sifts them
hard-won time
she undoes them
new things
shows them
for what they are
what they are to be
from now
from here on
nov 6, 11
The Honest Word
wake up, let me in
my lips feel like your cold hands
my mouth feels like the words
out of line
some old grammar
some buried thing
the honest word said
is no
a chant that goes
up from our torn out bodies
nov 6, 2011
my lips feel like your cold hands
my mouth feels like the words
out of line
some old grammar
some buried thing
the honest word said
is no
a chant that goes
up from our torn out bodies
nov 6, 2011
Whole
Take all my insides out
lay them aside
one by one, swallow them whole
there's so many things a mouth can hold
there's only so many things a mouth can hold
nov 3
lay them aside
one by one, swallow them whole
there's so many things a mouth can hold
there's only so many things a mouth can hold
nov 3
Walking Lines
Will walking lines be all i give
staccato, stalk, and slip
away along the slabs
and stare into where the starlight should be
cinch my shoulders
by the houses, shambles and sheets
sunken and still
silence my cymbals, make my steps
passing their septic sleep
sharing sidelong looks
stealing shadows from their dreams
nov 2
staccato, stalk, and slip
away along the slabs
and stare into where the starlight should be
cinch my shoulders
by the houses, shambles and sheets
sunken and still
silence my cymbals, make my steps
passing their septic sleep
sharing sidelong looks
stealing shadows from their dreams
nov 2
Wear
Clouds come on in watercolor
two parts paint, one spit
rust washing this place
making us ask
are the holes in our eyes
picked like the holes in our teeth
growing, filling,
wearing away again
oct 30, 11
two parts paint, one spit
rust washing this place
making us ask
are the holes in our eyes
picked like the holes in our teeth
growing, filling,
wearing away again
oct 30, 11
Motion
i walked with the wind
watched a train trundle
heavy with metal
when it was gone
the grass roared its echo
then laid itself to rest
pulled an onion from its undertow
peeled it to a stone
walked away with the shakes
oct 30, 11
watched a train trundle
heavy with metal
when it was gone
the grass roared its echo
then laid itself to rest
pulled an onion from its undertow
peeled it to a stone
walked away with the shakes
oct 30, 11
The Hush Hush
Come the barely lit days
the lambent season flickers out
with only wind to take its place
come the barely moved mouths.
Come the sky husked
translucent and spent
come the dark hush
whisper bent
come the hours used up
the urgency they lend.
Lips cracked deep in the center
with quiet
slowly cooling cinders.
oct 30, 2011
the lambent season flickers out
with only wind to take its place
come the barely moved mouths.
Come the sky husked
translucent and spent
come the dark hush
whisper bent
come the hours used up
the urgency they lend.
Lips cracked deep in the center
with quiet
slowly cooling cinders.
oct 30, 2011
To-Do
tuck your hair up
walk your ways
touch the trees
watch the headlights come through clouds
take your time
wear out this light as it leaves
hardening, draining
into ground, nest, sculpted sky
leaving you with only pages intact
and stamps
and metallic breath
leaves you with your bare eyes
oct 29, 2011
walk your ways
touch the trees
watch the headlights come through clouds
take your time
wear out this light as it leaves
hardening, draining
into ground, nest, sculpted sky
leaving you with only pages intact
and stamps
and metallic breath
leaves you with your bare eyes
oct 29, 2011
Picking Paths
picking paths
away from here
this city, its mad mumble
coming when called
to talk nonsense,
neat, perpendicular town,
at my elbow
smoothing my hair
checking for fever
Oct 28, 2011
away from here
this city, its mad mumble
coming when called
to talk nonsense,
neat, perpendicular town,
at my elbow
smoothing my hair
checking for fever
Oct 28, 2011
Gloss
if there was only so much breath
and a whir of fire under a kettle
to be heard over
would the truth bother with this wrapper
and string
or spill
not even into hands
just out and on
as blood or spit or sweat
a mess cohesive
denying its own pattern
until looked into
and a whir of fire under a kettle
to be heard over
would the truth bother with this wrapper
and string
or spill
not even into hands
just out and on
as blood or spit or sweat
a mess cohesive
denying its own pattern
until looked into
The Tells
we wait for rain to pass
but as it streams between the world
and here, our tells become
easy to recognize, all akindle
gathered for tender
and nothing left to add
just the hours until
the rain has passed
oct 18, 2011
but as it streams between the world
and here, our tells become
easy to recognize, all akindle
our own limbs
already burned to embers
grounded reasonsgathered for tender
and nothing left to add
just the hours until
the rain has passed
oct 18, 2011
Not Now
don't look now
the days gone
are catching up
coming around
flashing teeth
shaking hands
the agreements made
are out of date
no time lost
showing up here
out of place
catching my eye
making like a stranger
with new friends
oct 18, 2011
the days gone
are catching up
coming around
flashing teeth
shaking hands
the agreements made
are out of date
no time lost
showing up here
out of place
catching my eye
making like a stranger
with new friends
oct 18, 2011
Crook
many times
the windows are cracked
and leaned into until collapse
the silent downfall of a dancer
very little is taken
many times
the locks are pried
the bolt rolls over and clicks
gentle force like a suggestion
but the cheat passes the night
on the steps
never understanding the house
trembles with want.
oct 16, 2011
the windows are cracked
and leaned into until collapse
the silent downfall of a dancer
very little is taken
many times
the locks are pried
the bolt rolls over and clicks
gentle force like a suggestion
but the cheat passes the night
on the steps
never understanding the house
trembles with want.
oct 16, 2011
Vintage
the words of my mouth
backed by breath and sound
are distilled and aged in
cool cellars in the ground
not spent not spilled
to mud tilled in
underfoot and only taken as
undistinguished earth to be scraped
from your favorite soles
on a day without date
backed by breath and sound
are distilled and aged in
cool cellars in the ground
not spent not spilled
to mud tilled in
underfoot and only taken as
undistinguished earth to be scraped
from your favorite soles
on a day without date
If Ever You Need
nearby i keep
an open road
and though i cleared it myself
you may mistake it for
the nocturnal path of an animal
it never crosses another
it leads to water
gentle at the banks
hungry in the deeps
i keep it clear enough to follow
near enough to take
if ever you need
oct 9, 2011
an open road
and though i cleared it myself
you may mistake it for
the nocturnal path of an animal
it never crosses another
it leads to water
gentle at the banks
hungry in the deeps
i keep it clear enough to follow
near enough to take
if ever you need
oct 9, 2011
At the Stake
when work doesn't come
as it should
the body pushes through,
making motion through a sieve
and the line left slack
catches and knots
the nothing seems hard,
begins to feel like work again.
but blood doesn't move
it catches in bruises
around which all my effort folds in.
to make something true
the body must be staked
and burned and turned out
into ground or ink or soot
a material suitable for work.
oct 9, 2011
Fever
hips have a basin
to carry weight
not seen
to receive risen waters
broken levees
to make room, open, nearby
to keep the bones taut
broken relics
hips have a basin
so there will be a desert to wander
to burn by day
empty
and shudder by night
empty
oct 9, 2011
to carry weight
not seen
to receive risen waters
broken levees
to make room, open, nearby
to keep the bones taut
broken relics
hips have a basin
so there will be a desert to wander
to burn by day
empty
and shudder by night
empty
oct 9, 2011
September Eighth
wary
warning sign
the light leaves early
slips in and out and
undoes the laces
earnest but weary
and we will be alaska
land of midnight
when these signs
have passed us
sept 8, 2011
warning sign
the light leaves early
slips in and out and
undoes the laces
earnest but weary
and we will be alaska
land of midnight
when these signs
have passed us
sept 8, 2011
Feral
the play of a skirt up thighs
head thrown back to the sky
ribs make room for the sigh
a pair chasing through rows of light
a wordless cry
sept 4, 2011
head thrown back to the sky
ribs make room for the sigh
a pair chasing through rows of light
a wordless cry
sept 4, 2011
Silent Night
What one silent night can do
to staunch the blood let out
with awful progress
a moonlight herb, a rally
smelling spirits stirring
a rise from rigid shock
kissing wounds
with soft wake up sounds
sept 4, 2011
to staunch the blood let out
with awful progress
a moonlight herb, a rally
smelling spirits stirring
a rise from rigid shock
kissing wounds
with soft wake up sounds
sept 4, 2011
Reading Practice
I've read your moods
more than your face
and your body more
than your words
And in turn I've practiced
a face that says little
and words that never approach
We'll find the line of this story
lie and lie by lie
Silence is our white walled room
denying everything
waiting for everything
sept 4, 2011
more than your face
and your body more
than your words
And in turn I've practiced
a face that says little
and words that never approach
We'll find the line of this story
lie and lie by lie
Silence is our white walled room
denying everything
waiting for everything
sept 4, 2011
The Ways You've Been
Where your notebook sits, leave it
don't depend on your pen.
The planes of your house
you've washed with your eyes
the boxes you check,
let them rest.
You've always known
the nights are uneven
let them, rise upon rise,
build inside you.
Let their geography swell
time a rundown metronome
and language was only
something to put in your mouth
in times of ration
you've outgrown these measurements.
You've been searching
up under your hair, your nails,
sit still.
Forget your words for your body
it will take you on from here
and these ways you've been.
sept 4, 2011
don't depend on your pen.
The planes of your house
you've washed with your eyes
the boxes you check,
let them rest.
You've always known
the nights are uneven
let them, rise upon rise,
build inside you.
Let their geography swell
time a rundown metronome
and language was only
something to put in your mouth
in times of ration
you've outgrown these measurements.
You've been searching
up under your hair, your nails,
sit still.
Forget your words for your body
it will take you on from here
and these ways you've been.
sept 4, 2011
Hungry
If your hunger is a good hunger,
breathe it in
If your city is a good city,
say so on your return
If the day is a warm pool
with a lean, muscular cold
sliding along your neck,
ride into that
Your hands are good,
press them to your lips
eyes, nose, mouth them
If your tethers are good tethers,
love them.
sept 4, 2011
Road Need
There was not enough driving
there were not enough ways to remain unseen
there were not enough open roads
through total dark
there was not enough sense
between landslides of talk
there were not enough ways of remembering.
sept 2, 2011
there were not enough ways to remain unseen
there were not enough open roads
through total dark
there was not enough sense
between landslides of talk
there were not enough ways of remembering.
sept 2, 2011
Wind-Up Day
Our time together hand-wound
the dirt, our skin, holds the heat of the day
long past dark
the deeper we look away
from one another and across
the climbing hills
into the stars arriving
from the daylight ash
the dark walks behind me
matches my confusion step for step
hides my limp
arrests my hands and all
from reaching to break a fall
or scrambling up again.
sept 1, 2011
the dirt, our skin, holds the heat of the day
long past dark
the deeper we look away
from one another and across
the climbing hills
into the stars arriving
from the daylight ash
the dark walks behind me
matches my confusion step for step
hides my limp
arrests my hands and all
from reaching to break a fall
or scrambling up again.
sept 1, 2011
Help
there will be poems and
truth laced lines
to walk us through
to teach our broken bones
to work again
to convince
our blood drained hearts
they are meant for this
to lie against our
wail worn faces
and whisper them dry
by morning:
"the world goes on
god goes on
it's only you that dies
it's just you, don't mind it"
aug 23, 2011
truth laced lines
to walk us through
to teach our broken bones
to work again
to convince
our blood drained hearts
they are meant for this
to lie against our
wail worn faces
and whisper them dry
by morning:
"the world goes on
god goes on
it's only you that dies
it's just you, don't mind it"
aug 23, 2011
Spool
The sewing thread
spins the spool
undoes the soles from the shoes
and the flicker from the trees
and the locks from the doors
takes my "maybe" to make it "of course"
The sewing thread
in the bottom of a purse
lies in wait for fingers
sends them through others
making sense, making riddles
pulls my "maybe" through "of course"
The sewing thread
in its hundred thousands
follows black lines
in sidewalk cracks
in iris tenses mends
everything to this
"maybe- of course"
aug 25, 2011
spins the spool
undoes the soles from the shoes
and the flicker from the trees
and the locks from the doors
takes my "maybe" to make it "of course"
The sewing thread
in the bottom of a purse
lies in wait for fingers
sends them through others
making sense, making riddles
pulls my "maybe" through "of course"
The sewing thread
in its hundred thousands
follows black lines
in sidewalk cracks
in iris tenses mends
everything to this
"maybe- of course"
aug 25, 2011
Not What We Thought
So far
i know we are not guilty
but small and held together
as if buried under war rubble
i know we are not weak
but sore from failing to move time
time as hard as the sky
that will never adjust no matter
how we grow
i know these are not tears
that dry up others' mouths
but that wear down the mortar
masks we wince behind
i know we do not die
but pass from one hand to another
and our hearts do not break
but dream of air we have not tasted
and have been told is impossible to breathe.
aug 24, 2011
i know we are not guilty
but small and held together
as if buried under war rubble
i know we are not weak
but sore from failing to move time
time as hard as the sky
that will never adjust no matter
how we grow
i know these are not tears
that dry up others' mouths
but that wear down the mortar
masks we wince behind
i know we do not die
but pass from one hand to another
and our hearts do not break
but dream of air we have not tasted
and have been told is impossible to breathe.
aug 24, 2011
Tender
Witness the tender season
laying down its arms
going on its knees
hands up empty
letting hostages free
giving up bodies of fire
scraping the hard blue scales
from its helmet sky
sending its blood out
in the open to cool.
Still warm to the touch
the tender season
buries its face
in a pile of surrender.
Witness the tender season
lift its last head
look us in the eye
as life drops from it
degree from degree.
aug 24, 2011
laying down its arms
going on its knees
hands up empty
letting hostages free
giving up bodies of fire
scraping the hard blue scales
from its helmet sky
sending its blood out
in the open to cool.
Still warm to the touch
the tender season
buries its face
in a pile of surrender.
Witness the tender season
lift its last head
look us in the eye
as life drops from it
degree from degree.
aug 24, 2011
Winter Wood
Look winter love
see the room
drawn from the space
you've drawn out
from here to far away.
I'll sit at its baseboards
making tallies
of the numbered times i've
lost my own breath
and had to search it
in the winter wood
you've made this room of.
Once found, once I breathe
again as everyone does
in and out again,
i'll spend my drawn out time
drawing the black sky between
the limbs of your white wood
and bless it
for relating our messages.
aug 22, 2011
see the room
drawn from the space
you've drawn out
from here to far away.
I'll sit at its baseboards
making tallies
of the numbered times i've
lost my own breath
and had to search it
in the winter wood
you've made this room of.
Once found, once I breathe
again as everyone does
in and out again,
i'll spend my drawn out time
drawing the black sky between
the limbs of your white wood
and bless it
for relating our messages.
aug 22, 2011
Salute
The warning flyers silent
dropped around your ears.
I sent them slapping
from the belly of my planes
then droned away
to let you think
and time to escape.
In the whole city
in all your streets
you stood standing in place
over and over again reading
the printed declaration
the spelled out shame.
Run, was the gist,
get away
before I come back
with my mouths open
and my hearts marching past.
aug 22, 2011
dropped around your ears.
I sent them slapping
from the belly of my planes
then droned away
to let you think
and time to escape.
In the whole city
in all your streets
you stood standing in place
over and over again reading
the printed declaration
the spelled out shame.
Run, was the gist,
get away
before I come back
with my mouths open
and my hearts marching past.
aug 22, 2011
Turning Pages
Lost in the turning pages
of your face
weather lifts the corners
you spend mornings
smoothing one against the others
willing them to stay in place
two hands drawn down your spine
strong against your cover
your back
held close and closed
to reading eyes.
Lost in the turning motion
that feels like disaster feigning flight
and the broken weight
the sick lost gravity
that you can't know for yourself
whether risen or fallen
your open pages and their declarations
are useless
but for reading eyes.
aug 22, 2011
of your face
weather lifts the corners
you spend mornings
smoothing one against the others
willing them to stay in place
two hands drawn down your spine
strong against your cover
your back
held close and closed
to reading eyes.
Lost in the turning motion
that feels like disaster feigning flight
and the broken weight
the sick lost gravity
that you can't know for yourself
whether risen or fallen
your open pages and their declarations
are useless
but for reading eyes.
aug 22, 2011
Down the Wrong Way
can you hear of
the shame going down
my throat the wrong way
what should chase it
how to wind through
the canyons of city
i tried to love i tried to thank
i tried to follow through
still broke hands
strain as they might
can't uncover yours from your face
grit as they might
even teeth can't hold you in
you've gone deaf and tear blind
away to stay away
and me choking on the swelling space
aug 19, 2011
the shame going down
my throat the wrong way
what should chase it
how to wind through
the canyons of city
i tried to love i tried to thank
i tried to follow through
still broke hands
strain as they might
can't uncover yours from your face
grit as they might
even teeth can't hold you in
you've gone deaf and tear blind
away to stay away
and me choking on the swelling space
aug 19, 2011
By the Hems
by the hems
i snag
at your back
crushed along
others strutting
singing songs
the fray
your unraveling cover
i pull
washed in faith
crowded
from the way
you walk on
i see you're waiting
by the hems
i scramble
you know i'm coming
in my road weary way
aug 15, 2011
i snag
at your back
crushed along
others strutting
singing songs
the fray
your unraveling cover
i pull
washed in faith
crowded
from the way
you walk on
i see you're waiting
by the hems
i scramble
you know i'm coming
in my road weary way
aug 15, 2011
The Difference Between Bread and Wood
the difference, love,
is between bread and wood
neither of us know much,
enough, about either
but both suffer abuse
from the shoulders through
the wrists and often
the back, its ribs and canvas tendon
tender at the base but
terribly against the flesh of
either bread or wood
travels upward from this pain
and then down again to get it out
beat into another
i meant to tell you the difference
it's not important now, is it?
aug 10, 2011
is between bread and wood
neither of us know much,
enough, about either
but both suffer abuse
from the shoulders through
the wrists and often
the back, its ribs and canvas tendon
tender at the base but
terribly against the flesh of
either bread or wood
travels upward from this pain
and then down again to get it out
beat into another
i meant to tell you the difference
it's not important now, is it?
aug 10, 2011
Lost Men
in a man's eyes
what is there
may not be ready to take in
the lighter broader air
of love and its long list
of desires of darknesses
but a woman may
if she crashes in waves
on waves hammering
draw him to shore
may have him feel
himself pounded out
and in between
and without himself
him the fear
him the care
him the boy
until a man sore
and lost pushes up
from that sand
to answer his heart
a spiral echo
of one woman's crashing wave
aug 5, 11
what is there
may not be ready to take in
the lighter broader air
of love and its long list
of desires of darknesses
but a woman may
if she crashes in waves
on waves hammering
draw him to shore
may have him feel
himself pounded out
and in between
and without himself
him the fear
him the care
him the boy
until a man sore
and lost pushes up
from that sand
to answer his heart
a spiral echo
of one woman's crashing wave
aug 5, 11
a wild being
i be wilder
than your heart
be brave
i won't come to
your hands
to beg
i won't come near
but call out loud
i be wilder
than your heart
be brave
aug 5, 11
than your heart
be brave
i won't come to
your hands
to beg
i won't come near
but call out loud
i be wilder
than your heart
be brave
aug 5, 11
Troubling the Trees
birds trouble the trees
unless you can finish the season
it sings
don't bother with getting the door
don't bother with spinning yourself
out across the endless coming
you expect too much
the shaking limbs hum
of your going
and never expect
the ways of coming
and coming back
unless you can wait for your sunken line
to catch
it sings
don't bother casting off again
jul 20, 11
unless you can finish the season
it sings
don't bother with getting the door
don't bother with spinning yourself
out across the endless coming
you expect too much
the shaking limbs hum
of your going
and never expect
the ways of coming
and coming back
unless you can wait for your sunken line
to catch
it sings
don't bother casting off again
jul 20, 11
Bites
Apricots and skin
have always been
the same flesh
why send me home
lit up
but to send me safely
the come of the storm
tells of the year
come back
the wordless yet
tune slips
you're growing shadows
bite your place here
come back safe
to flesh
sweet after your shadows are sung
july 15, 11
have always been
the same flesh
why send me home
lit up
but to send me safely
the come of the storm
tells of the year
come back
the wordless yet
tune slips
you're growing shadows
bite your place here
come back safe
to flesh
sweet after your shadows are sung
july 15, 11
As Usual
My hand, as always,
skimming the fence
the rain will, as usual,
light our personal fires
all i have to say
comes in only
games for children
their sidewalk messages
to all, too simple
the only words they know -
houses and treetops -
their limbs fall all around us
we only have one further summer
left in us
but i will come around for you, as always,
for the fall
in the rain, as usual,
how never it comes.
july 15, 11
skimming the fence
the rain will, as usual,
light our personal fires
all i have to say
comes in only
games for children
their sidewalk messages
to all, too simple
the only words they know -
houses and treetops -
their limbs fall all around us
we only have one further summer
left in us
but i will come around for you, as always,
for the fall
in the rain, as usual,
how never it comes.
july 15, 11
Middle
the soft of my middle
the thrown of our cigarette
against a wall
fireworks on and on
so that the lyric falls
in the light fallen on our dark perch
you clear your throat
to say another
another and another
against the soft of my middle
and soft all over me
don't wish it away
don't wish it fall
unless into fireworks
on and on
july 15, 11
the thrown of our cigarette
against a wall
fireworks on and on
so that the lyric falls
in the light fallen on our dark perch
you clear your throat
to say another
another and another
against the soft of my middle
and soft all over me
don't wish it away
don't wish it fall
unless into fireworks
on and on
july 15, 11
Warm Without
there will be a passion
no longer, what it took
to believe in action
burned chemical and brief
the ways learned to master
worlds of others and their wills
brittle, soluble plaster
the space behind such walls
asserting through their cast
just the dark
the uncut and unframed past
all the fill of life
all the integrity ashen
but still warm and willing
to warm us to resurrection
aug 1, 11
no longer, what it took
to believe in action
burned chemical and brief
the ways learned to master
worlds of others and their wills
brittle, soluble plaster
the space behind such walls
asserting through their cast
just the dark
the uncut and unframed past
all the fill of life
all the integrity ashen
but still warm and willing
to warm us to resurrection
aug 1, 11
With Night
With night
sliding up my arms
with night
i go from here
with night
coming on
with night
rising to my waist
my chest
with night
i board, i go
with night
thin in places
with night
only under me
aug 1, 11
sliding up my arms
with night
i go from here
with night
coming on
with night
rising to my waist
my chest
with night
i board, i go
with night
thin in places
with night
only under me
aug 1, 11
Talk
We talk of all
the ways to talk
those ways fall away
who can hold me
with the shadow
of a slinking creature, hackles up
my only mirror
who can talk will
back into place
who can, without explaining the way,
talk to me
aug 1, 11
the ways to talk
those ways fall away
who can hold me
with the shadow
of a slinking creature, hackles up
my only mirror
who can talk will
back into place
who can, without explaining the way,
talk to me
aug 1, 11
Great Wave
never have i ever
written a poem about our
made up love
but i can say
that i've refused you
on insufficient grounds
only to regret it
or when you don't let sleeping
love lie
only to thank the ceiling
that i finally went
i'll tell you about when
you didn't know then
and you haven't remembered since
our hands woke us
blind past midnight
and led the way
easily for two as lost as we
there have been so many
ways to say yes:
no, okay
fine, what, i said okay
wait, hey i said, never mind
i'll teach them to you
so i don't have to make lines
about our made up love
for everyone to see just so
you'll see
it's never been bad since we
learned it under those empty
canvas frames suspended over
our tide thin sheets
our tide thin knowledge
folded and drug under
great waves
jul 8, 2011
written a poem about our
made up love
but i can say
that i've refused you
on insufficient grounds
only to regret it
or when you don't let sleeping
love lie
only to thank the ceiling
that i finally went
i'll tell you about when
you didn't know then
and you haven't remembered since
our hands woke us
blind past midnight
and led the way
easily for two as lost as we
there have been so many
ways to say yes:
no, okay
fine, what, i said okay
wait, hey i said, never mind
i'll teach them to you
so i don't have to make lines
about our made up love
for everyone to see just so
you'll see
it's never been bad since we
learned it under those empty
canvas frames suspended over
our tide thin sheets
our tide thin knowledge
folded and drug under
great waves
jul 8, 2011
Problems With Both
align skirt seams
with hips
always shifting
in and out of place
making small tears
under
skin and silk slips
under linen lines
checking hands on hips
in case
jul 7, 2011
with hips
always shifting
in and out of place
making small tears
under
skin and silk slips
under linen lines
checking hands on hips
in case
jul 7, 2011
Long Time Hurt
Things that were once ordinary
the spare room
the dark
the pitched singing
slip diving through it
the looking face who hadn't
yet shown up on life
or vice versa
hardly
the hard packed loneliness
that lead into
the open field next door
holding me up long enough
to run
All these things, all such
are left outdoors
there until ruined
jul 8, 2011
the spare room
the dark
the pitched singing
slip diving through it
the looking face who hadn't
yet shown up on life
or vice versa
hardly
the hard packed loneliness
that lead into
the open field next door
holding me up long enough
to run
All these things, all such
are left outdoors
there until ruined
jul 8, 2011
Public Transportation
For so much pride
I'd take a bus in the wrong direction
just to be moved
I smell the days pass and pass
stay lost just to stay
and use another mouth
your mouth
to breathe just to keep you
The trains hush
all that
and wind away to
this city my pride
panics through
jul 8, 2011
I'd take a bus in the wrong direction
just to be moved
I smell the days pass and pass
stay lost just to stay
and use another mouth
your mouth
to breathe just to keep you
The trains hush
all that
and wind away to
this city my pride
panics through
jul 8, 2011
An Apology
dreamed and dreamed
out our apologies
fought in dreams
dreams for years
how dreams year
year year howl
how long dreams host
hurt by hurt then
a night a dream
an ambiguity a doubt
beasts not of monsters
a question of intentions
and later much later still
we were already dead
it was easier
to apologize from the shade
without knowing one another
anymore
jul 7, 2011
out our apologies
fought in dreams
dreams for years
how dreams year
year year howl
how long dreams host
hurt by hurt then
a night a dream
an ambiguity a doubt
beasts not of monsters
a question of intentions
and later much later still
we were already dead
it was easier
to apologize from the shade
without knowing one another
anymore
jul 7, 2011
What You Will
By now you know
that leaving before you're left
makes little difference
to the bones you break
in order to take yourself
and leave the gifts you already gave
There are no limits
to of what your hands are willing
to empty
to others, fill up
others with other
than you, but
the lay of hand on hand
solders bodies, by now
you should know that
The limits of your self
you sieve from those gifts
show only in, bind only in
broken word, by now
you should know
you give your word by living
by breathing, ragged or deep
by touching the back of another hand
with the back your own
These things are not fair
you did not know
life was storm and teeth
but by now
you are finding it so
so invisible horizon you fear
crowding the indifferent world
against your limbs
the wide skies that would deliver
you over
wait for what you will
jul 7, 2011
that leaving before you're left
makes little difference
to the bones you break
in order to take yourself
and leave the gifts you already gave
There are no limits
to of what your hands are willing
to empty
to others, fill up
others with other
than you, but
the lay of hand on hand
solders bodies, by now
you should know that
The limits of your self
you sieve from those gifts
show only in, bind only in
broken word, by now
you should know
you give your word by living
by breathing, ragged or deep
by touching the back of another hand
with the back your own
These things are not fair
you did not know
life was storm and teeth
but by now
you are finding it so
so invisible horizon you fear
crowding the indifferent world
against your limbs
the wide skies that would deliver
you over
wait for what you will
jul 7, 2011
In the Listen
he smelled of a river
which one i don't
and will not know
his hands worked into
by the world
gnarled just as
a river does
over its deep heartbeaten rocks
which one you know
there's no way
for me to know
his voice rolled undercurrent
over and under and around
the space the generation
of space i barely exist in
i barely know of
he told me of the world
in rivers through a beard
that ran and fell
naturally from his face
to his chest
under his hands
gentle enough
to be allowed its course
a course which
i don't, i never will, know
jul 7, 2011
which one i don't
and will not know
his hands worked into
by the world
gnarled just as
a river does
over its deep heartbeaten rocks
which one you know
there's no way
for me to know
his voice rolled undercurrent
over and under and around
the space the generation
of space i barely exist in
i barely know of
he told me of the world
in rivers through a beard
that ran and fell
naturally from his face
to his chest
under his hands
gentle enough
to be allowed its course
a course which
i don't, i never will, know
jul 7, 2011
real birds
i have no guts
or even honor
i make sore muscles
in keeping away
the lake birds dive
and cry
and snatch at lifts
they are only real birds
when in their black bodies
again each morning
before the sun
black priests
before our eyes
the blotted bodies
of real birds
in cuts of flight.
jul 4, 11
or even honor
i make sore muscles
in keeping away
the lake birds dive
and cry
and snatch at lifts
they are only real birds
when in their black bodies
again each morning
before the sun
black priests
before our eyes
the blotted bodies
of real birds
in cuts of flight.
jul 4, 11
Plans
The cracks in the ceiling
in the walls
run me down
find me out
continue on
tracing my silences.
They say:
you hurt, you are not good
in the morning
you buckle under
the pointless roof
and your pointless head
and cry into peeled paint
perfect wrists in felt weight
but your deep dug bed
is turning, will turn you
out to me
the cracks in the walls
the ceiling
and the plans I have for you are made.
jul 4, 11
Sound in the Bones
They're in your heart
in the bones of your chest
the sounds you don't
know how to make
what to do with
but kneel
but shout back
but wonder what, who
sent that echo
eternally out
forever in
canyon long
if only behind the bones
of your tiny woman heart
jul 3, 11
in the bones of your chest
the sounds you don't
know how to make
what to do with
but kneel
but shout back
but wonder what, who
sent that echo
eternally out
forever in
canyon long
if only behind the bones
of your tiny woman heart
jul 3, 11
Strapped
The sun strapped
across my shoulders
and undone memory
I avoided that city
and its telling history
stories of where been
of what changed
and longed for
waking to the light weight day
waking nothing under
sun strapped skin.
jul 1, 11
across my shoulders
and undone memory
I avoided that city
and its telling history
stories of where been
of what changed
and longed for
waking to the light weight day
waking nothing under
sun strapped skin.
jul 1, 11
The Arrangement
Despite the music
the two danced to something
slower other
that bent between them
in close quarters
the kind of arrangement
that misles hair
breaks arms open
and cracked mouths part
the kind that leaves
rubble of the space
once made.
jul 1, 11
the two danced to something
slower other
that bent between them
in close quarters
the kind of arrangement
that misles hair
breaks arms open
and cracked mouths part
the kind that leaves
rubble of the space
once made.
jul 1, 11
a little crying
it should not hurt
so to talk like this
to breathe in the miles
and miles and miles
and nothing miles
between our houses
when they should be
an arms length apart
and that only
and nothing more but
thresholds and dreams and nights
and bread between us
this is a nothing saying poem
it is a shaken little thing
a pitiful unweaned
still warm-bodied
holding itself poem
jul 2
so to talk like this
to breathe in the miles
and miles and miles
and nothing miles
between our houses
when they should be
an arms length apart
and that only
and nothing more but
thresholds and dreams and nights
and bread between us
this is a nothing saying poem
it is a shaken little thing
a pitiful unweaned
still warm-bodied
holding itself poem
jul 2
Open Window Hands
open window hands
the doves go out, return
mourn the dawn
call us to our prayers
back to a god we limped from,
holding close the injuries
still unable to say
from where they fell
so to the vacant broken mouth
open window hands
send doves, go out, return
fill with mourning
jun 24, 2011
the doves go out, return
mourn the dawn
call us to our prayers
back to a god we limped from,
holding close the injuries
still unable to say
from where they fell
so to the vacant broken mouth
open window hands
send doves, go out, return
fill with mourning
jun 24, 2011
Dream Rot
disappointed i expected --
but what a one from
without the city, from without
the world could do
with only twine around
her earthen, half filled
notes, half felt breaks --
what a one who knew
so few names
but the few she only assumed
and cast about into, bait
for clearer bodies, lesser
smaller in their breath in their rage
for even one dream
enough small things filled her heavy
she felt deep --
with her one expectation wrappered, handled
as if a secret, as if hidden
it might become its own insides
but disappointed in the shade
of many fecund dreams of others
and many days grown dark
over
the grave cavern palms
under
receiving arms
the thickness pressing them away
the wetness the seep the drain
depressing rot into the seed
the ordinary way and mean
Jun 24, 2011
but what a one from
without the city, from without
the world could do
with only twine around
her earthen, half filled
notes, half felt breaks --
what a one who knew
so few names
but the few she only assumed
and cast about into, bait
for clearer bodies, lesser
smaller in their breath in their rage
for even one dream
enough small things filled her heavy
she felt deep --
with her one expectation wrappered, handled
as if a secret, as if hidden
it might become its own insides
but disappointed in the shade
of many fecund dreams of others
and many days grown dark
over
the grave cavern palms
under
receiving arms
the thickness pressing them away
the wetness the seep the drain
depressing rot into the seed
the ordinary way and mean
Jun 24, 2011
Little Thief
little thieves
with broken hips
only fill their hands
and not their pockets
they weave in drunken
talk in foreign
sit in silent
little spaces
but all i sometimes
think about
is half beaten
blood scraped
naked
taken for it all
happy through the vacant
bars between my teeth
between my eyesight
between my intellection
of what small talk
distracted me subtracted
the little thief
filling hands, mouth, pockets,
all
with my turned out collection
Jun 23, 2011
with broken hips
only fill their hands
and not their pockets
they weave in drunken
talk in foreign
sit in silent
little spaces
but all i sometimes
think about
is half beaten
blood scraped
naked
taken for it all
happy through the vacant
bars between my teeth
between my eyesight
between my intellection
of what small talk
distracted me subtracted
the little thief
filling hands, mouth, pockets,
all
with my turned out collection
Jun 23, 2011
Shoulder Blades, Vertebrae
The sand between my shoulder blades
between my vertebrae
chorusing there
in skin tones
I won't know or care
and when the sand is all that's left
it will decide between
the sheets, my skin, the morning
I predict
how little I'll be shaking out
and the shape still making out
in skin tones
between my shoulder blades
stuck between the vertebrae
June 18, 2011
between my vertebrae
chorusing there
in skin tones
I won't know or care
and when the sand is all that's left
it will decide between
the sheets, my skin, the morning
I predict
how little I'll be shaking out
and the shape still making out
in skin tones
between my shoulder blades
stuck between the vertebrae
June 18, 2011
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