his wife upstairs with the boyssends hate through the floor in her sleepi am gathering all the things i have left behindon previous visits; soggy shoes an old coata purse with a smelly glass pipeif it be the last time let it be the bestthe snow has just begun to meltbut in the car thisContinue reading “nocturne: exit wounds”
Tag Archives: poetry
five excuses
I. hollow voice to empty earsbecause i shot wordslike bullets to the black nightsinging the meteor showercat-clawing until the notes shatteredand fell spent and sweatingat the feet of a mumbling crowdwho don’t seem to like purplenearly as much as i do II. smash cut: age eightbecause she used to saywhen you write your bestsellerinstead ofContinue reading “five excuses”
by the river, by the street
i think you’d love me mostin small moments of perseverancecarrying the groceries homeslipping in the snowi grasp desperatelyfor the heart shadowing mineand hope that your firm graspwill keep me standing you are a counterweighta balance a nightlighta cup of strong coffeea sleeping pill if neededremember this i think you’d love me mostif i never hadContinue reading “by the river, by the street”
nocturne: voodoo doll
i didn’t know the quilt wasn’t finishedor i would have waited to use itbut i realized this too latewhen i noticed all the pinsstuck in medozens piercing all the way throughmy hands and feetthe bed full of sharp ends i start with tweezersbut it’s a big jobso i ask dad for plierspulling them out inContinue reading “nocturne: voodoo doll”
nocturne: what you love will kill you
there is a curse on this townblank eyes and slack wordless tonguesslide between nervous commonfolkwho don’t know the word “zombie”the river gone still and brackishthe children stay inside humanity responds to mysterywith superstition and ritualtoday it is my turnto run a mile between the pale onesif you touch one, they sayyou’ll become onei don’t thinkContinue reading “nocturne: what you love will kill you”
when i think of you i picture things forged from iron
in from the coldyour head full of spidersspins straw into goldyour nerves feed each othergiving birth to the liethat it’s all gonna breakjust like always, old manthe long years only take but we sat in our roomsand we drank even moreboth alone, sunlight weptlike a festering sorei knew you, i loved youwe had years inContinue reading “when i think of you i picture things forged from iron”
nocturne: i stayed dirty and thirsty
yard work is hard workand sod won’t grow on sandbut i put the pieces where i’m toldit’s my job, after all lili wants to ride a roller coastershe asks me to choose onethat won’t flip her upside downthe pier has a few choicesi take her to the onewith the animatronic elephantswearing business suitsher wallet isContinue reading “nocturne: i stayed dirty and thirsty”
thereabouts
i’ve been tryingto shake off dusttwisted into carnal memorythe tangled lace of a booti’m trying not to wear out mary karr says:get naked on the pageyou can’t pole dancein plate armor the entire internal struggleis exposure vs nonexposurehow do i disrobe seductivelywhen it makes me feelso hostile look i’d rather be barefootthan nude in theseContinue reading “thereabouts”
home/office
the headaches have grown migraine branchestwigs of nauseaura probing deep into my brainthe dim christmas bulbs somehow achingly brighti know the wisdom in shutting eyes in dark spacesbut i’d rather suffer pain than boredom i’m trying to shrink the fallout of a religioninto a pill small enough for narrow throatsindulge me: the techniques are reboundingintoContinue reading “home/office”
the secret languages have no textbook
for Mike Doughty have you learned by nowthat the twists and grooves of a certain mindshapeslip gently into abstract curlsof language, of melodyof voice when they elaborate at lengthyou saved my life in 2007so graceless, your graceyou must know the liquid tangles of wiringpore over your metaphorto find an opening the shock of recognitiontines connectingtoContinue reading “the secret languages have no textbook”
mattress dungeon 