Remember that bar up the street,
parking lot teens, patio furniture,
crooked pine trees, broken architecture.
We glanced around, found the corner seat—
Was this the place no other could beat?
(Girls without groove, that gap-toothed creature,
the smell of stale cigarettes and wheat
beer on my shoe.) We had no closure
with friends we found. We now forgot
how many miles of dirt we fought
through to be here—this quiet town
bypassed so many times. Meandering around
vacant ranches at midnight just to find
a point where the road unwinds.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Bad Weather
We hid in a bathroom
when the lighting came
it smelt like horses
and muggy rain
the hay caught my boot
and I imagined a good day
befriending dogs
and strangers
making the most of it
knowing we could not stay.
when the lighting came
it smelt like horses
and muggy rain
the hay caught my boot
and I imagined a good day
befriending dogs
and strangers
making the most of it
knowing we could not stay.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
I Saw a Canoe
Inside was a man eager
to escape and I asked if I could
take him where he wanted to go.
to escape and I asked if I could
take him where he wanted to go.
"Can you leave a poor man alone?"
he shouted turning with disgrace
then whistled away—those rotting cheekbones.
The echo turning me back to the porch
in darkness where I saw no trace
of a man or a boat ever going.
in darkness where I saw no trace
of a man or a boat ever going.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Proximity
Left with spaces that lay between
your eyes, connecting dots around,
trying to imprint them in mine—
Be a photographer. Keep it.
Store on a shelf to catch the dust—
the perfume, the flesh in your cheeks.
Wait for the hues to saturate,
the streaks of stringy blonde to fade.
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Word
animosity
seems convenient
the way it falls
off the tongue
groups of tiny letters
with swords
rushing towards her
always her.
seems convenient
the way it falls
off the tongue
groups of tiny letters
with swords
rushing towards her
always her.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Collectables
There's something about collectables
how they take form on a shelf
like still life.
The glass jug sits empty for months
but you barely notice
the story long forgotten.
how they take form on a shelf
like still life.
The glass jug sits empty for months
but you barely notice
the story long forgotten.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Plans
I asked the boy if he had any plans
for the winter season
and he replied passionately
about the annual vacation he took
with his family
and how the weather stayed warm
at the beach house, where a dozen gathered
around a living room,
scattered in small groups.
Images of them kept coming up,
the uncles laughing, old records playing,
white sand glistening.
The only complaint he spoke about
made me understand that twenty is an old age
to follow tradition
and I nodded my head,
with no hesitation
but wondered how frozen the grass would be, here.
for the winter season
and he replied passionately
about the annual vacation he took
with his family
and how the weather stayed warm
at the beach house, where a dozen gathered
around a living room,
scattered in small groups.
Images of them kept coming up,
the uncles laughing, old records playing,
white sand glistening.
The only complaint he spoke about
made me understand that twenty is an old age
to follow tradition
and I nodded my head,
with no hesitation
but wondered how frozen the grass would be, here.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Ivory
your skin was mine
to swallow each time
life was death
or something alike
you were my own
to keep and touch
speechless nights
filled by subconscious
he sighed for you
a breath I felt so slight
unaware of the toxin
my bruised organs
purple now fading
so others won't see
anything beyond
the glow of ivory
to swallow each time
life was death
or something alike
you were my own
to keep and touch
speechless nights
filled by subconscious
he sighed for you
a breath I felt so slight
unaware of the toxin
my bruised organs
purple now fading
so others won't see
anything beyond
the glow of ivory
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Before Leaving
there's a feeling that goes
down with August
the last sunset of summer
such a gray
underbelly of clouds
you don't expect
and seabirds cry
above the ocean
where you stand
holding your salty breath
just for a minute
before the exhalation
down with August
the last sunset of summer
such a gray
underbelly of clouds
you don't expect
and seabirds cry
above the ocean
where you stand
holding your salty breath
just for a minute
before the exhalation
Fireflies
it's like nine hundred
smiling around your eyes
and then they pass by
lighting up the night sky
they giggle
high up in a tree
the melody is soft now
fading as a lullaby
you only wish to somehow
be an insect of their kind
smiling around your eyes
and then they pass by
lighting up the night sky
they giggle
high up in a tree
the melody is soft now
fading as a lullaby
you only wish to somehow
be an insect of their kind
Monday, January 14, 2013
Western Travelers
So simple were those summers in the desert
when the sun set but the heat never escaped
and found a way to settle under your skin
and knew how to melt the plastic in a Dodge Caravan
that drove for miles past sillhouettes of mountains
sloping upwards and downwards past the window
You pressed your face against so you could see
the stars seeming close enough to touch
yet never quite approaching as we traveled
around the barns and ranches until we arrived
You couldn't put your finger on the longing
to wander the road by foot and to explore
what past explorers fought for some time ago
but no one wants to understand the scorpion
And why we haven't found what we ought to
discover so we choose to gaze far out
into constellations of the sky and daydream
the impossible ways when it's just beyond our eyes
beyond the village and the darkness
of a valley that swallows and keeps us inside
when the sun set but the heat never escaped
and found a way to settle under your skin
and knew how to melt the plastic in a Dodge Caravan
that drove for miles past sillhouettes of mountains
sloping upwards and downwards past the window
You pressed your face against so you could see
the stars seeming close enough to touch
yet never quite approaching as we traveled
around the barns and ranches until we arrived
You couldn't put your finger on the longing
to wander the road by foot and to explore
what past explorers fought for some time ago
but no one wants to understand the scorpion
And why we haven't found what we ought to
discover so we choose to gaze far out
into constellations of the sky and daydream
the impossible ways when it's just beyond our eyes
beyond the village and the darkness
of a valley that swallows and keeps us inside
Friday, January 11, 2013
In Regard to You
You were merely a shadow
in those long dark minutes.
I wanted to lean in to show you
what neither of us know
without shaking you up
but you were merely asleep
and all I thought was I'm sorry about before.
in those long dark minutes.
I wanted to lean in to show you
what neither of us know
without shaking you up
but you were merely asleep
and all I thought was I'm sorry about before.
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