Oh

out of order
cover of clovers
plovers for lovers

spool of coiling wool
spoils
of lost over
tossed out
crossed out words

chords of coarse notes
dissolving resolve
coated nocturnes
of hallowed hours
ocher colored cuckhold

flowers gone sallow
sour
coals gone cold
overcome.

one am

walking out of the subway
she holds her bags in the crook of her arm
wrist limp
hoping someone will notice

this part of her
is delicate.

Exile

This is a strange kind of exile
what should be sitcom jokes
and happy knowing sighs
is instead:
wearing headphones while i brush my teeth
in order to block out the panting and creaking
meals and betimes now executed at a ratio of 2:1
greetings are made in two different languages

and as they abscond quietly
into another room each night,
leaving me to entertain
maybe others but always discomfort
the close and click of the door says
"we interpret your support and understanding
as unconditional."

Modesto 2

The geese laid their eggs
in the thrushes by the duck pond
guarded them serenely
We tip-toed around the back to check on them:
four maybe gosling

But the duck pond flooded
and by the time the water had gone down
only dark halos at the roots of the grass
the eggs were gone
the geese didnt seem to notice.

Bug

there are bugs
spiders flies mosquitoes ticks
in my bed
shower
between pages of books
on my windowsill
under my skin
digging
leaving a map of bruises
California
Chile
Manhattan
an encyclopedia of starbursts
a catalog of flower petals
an exponential anxiety.

Coney Island state of mind

I stood in the ocean at Coney Island
next to a boy in a blue striped shirt
holding his shoes in one hand

quartered jellyfish
stray sandals
and flattened silver juice pouches
washed back and forth
catching on our ankles

he made a joke about the boat on the horizon
i blushed

his gentle smile
his name the sound of the ebb tide.

The night I met the Icelander
I met an Italian girl
in a dark apartment where nature shows glowed with the sound off
Someone passed around a clear glass tile covered in cocaine
and we heaved and sighed
and sat a little closer
She didn't seem real
her voice more breath than sound - cotton candy
She asked would I like to play poker
and said she would teach me
then she kissed someone - a boy -
and disappeared.