12/3/13

they spoke of hoofbeats
the thundering run of blood
through thread-like veins
but I heard spaceships, static
and echos, a voice miles away

12/2/13

hello scotoma
strange curving beast, back bent
and blown with white light
pull tight to the cornea
mark my vision with claw prints

12/1/13

the whistle of snow
dead grass trapped between the freeze
and thaw of autumn
I stir, nose my burrow mouth,
emerge in a new landscape

11/4/13

wan apparition
two white gloves scattered, stranded
on the wide top stair
I return them, hours pass
and they meekly reappear

11/3/13

frozen world of snow
long evenings and zipped parkas
black-iced parking lots
I peer into coming months
scrying on this clock-turned day

11/2/13

an inch of facepaint
pierrots and pantalones
in bathroom mirrors
trudge through the back gate, whooping
push our way into the house

11/1/13

the evening tripple
soporific, love-charm thick
syrup of nightshade
my eyes roll back, deep breaths chain
below my ribcage shadow

10/31/13

emerge from the rain
dripping, teeth chattering
in hoodies and coats
sweet costumes torn by fall gales
bags bulging with damp candy

10/30/13

these men and their hands
plucks and crashes, tender snares
sewn into folk songs
these men and their histories
the brilliant women they've kissed

10/29/13

a street lamp filtered
through rippled glass, half-cocked blinds
slats of yellowed light
midnight mission, shadowed leaves
thin ribbon of tap water

10/28/13

love-mad travelers
footsteps tracing a gold ring
around the isle
foggy moors dotted with sheep
cats perched on cobblestone streets

10/27/13

emerge from fog thick
as brick walls, iron steamships,
to the harbor cove;
the wary faces ashore
as we drag our thin corpses

10/26/13

ocean, still mirror
in the airless afternoon
our limp, dizzy sails
carve notches in the porthole
counting hours, days, life-times

10/25/13

a voyage of days
cast off with champagne clatter
and shower of suds
but hush, a queer darkness falls
macabre silence of the hold

10/24/13

blue-backed swallows tilt
their wings and nest on the backs
of my open palms
their bodies fold into sleep
and I join them, dreaming

10/23/13

wash the poison from
the curled coats of seeds, drain the
soapy waste water
heat blushes the grain brown
the germ raised like a whip-tail

10/22/13

the era of illness
bus rides broken by long peals
of coughing, raw gasps
the still air pulls with currents:
influenza, bronchitis

10/21/13

awake in moonlight
the dark miles of night stopped
for this passenger
the knife edge of consciousness
sleep thundering waves below

10/20/13

while we watch the game,
pass bags of chips, crack wise at
the glowing tv screen,
the day folds into darkness
the first cold nights of autumn

10/19/13

the room is spinning
with proclamations, sugar
strawberry incense
in a tight circle we pass
dice, toss matches, throw candy

10/18/13

some new tradition
mopey friday evenings to
turn pages in bed
feeling like a cypher, hollow
two eyeballs and no brain

10/17/13

the first niggling ache
like a loose tooth, mice nibbling
on your smallest toe
so quickly blooms malignant;
gangrenous limbs lopped to stumps

10/16/13

fronds of fennel wilt
next to a dozen white eggs
in their cardboard bed
jars of jellies and pickles
tinkle in the opened door

10/15/13

the rat-like whimper
of lungs, pumping with each flit
and fold of skin wings
world of darkness and echos
hear the ground under my feet

10/14/13

milk white skin, baroque
in a work shirt, porcelain
folded doll hands
the throw of your skin's perfume:
cream and sugar, wool and whey

10/13/13

bent tins of clams, pried
open and drained into pots
olives and parsley
he calls us from a cloud of steam
while draining pasta in the sink

10/12/13

ill-lit wind tunnel
black-top garage funneling sound
from the whirling blades
the roar of exhaust fans fills
every square inch, quakes each atom

10/11/13

step and collapse
draw myself up, step and fall
a downward arrow
traveling to the earth's core
doomed to tectonic smelter

10/10/13

two tired sailors,
we drift the living room rug
on the SS Couch
swigging gossip and trivia
like a flask passed between hands

10/9/13

your sweet civic heart
planting gardens between
crooked row houses
calling every neighborhood
by the name it gives itself

10/8/13

my messy kitchen
stacked skyhigh with chipped plates and
brown-ringed coffee mugs
cookie batter and fruit peels
nest between strewn tea towels

10/7/13

wings beat the glass globe
of the ceiling fan, splayed leg
stinkbug shadow
the cat stares, transfixed by
the prisoner's death rattle

10/6/13

ohio roadside
a bleak tree hung with vultures
mortician shadows
their gathered wings hunched ragged
paired gloves, pinned to a coatsleeve

10/5/13

the cacophony
of cheers and spilled gin gimlets
rattle the windows
below, we exchange small talk
grateful for empty foyers

10/4/13

gutters overflow
bearing dead leaves like steam ships
into the old cracked street
my heels click the cobblestones
wet black felt, two drowned moles

10/3/13

world of coiled rings
haloed planets circling
our tiny bowed heads,
microscopic corona
breathing blood between our cells

10/2/13

the morning rumble
black exhaust, the crushing weight
tires grinding the asphalt
to pebbles, to sand, to dust
blown in boiling tailpipe heat

10/1/13

lost in the static
broken signals, weakening
to dead doppler drop
mystery of space within,
where flesh parts invisibly

9/30/13

the maestro leering,
scissored teeth, his crimeboss mug
lined as a flattened palm
pull my sway to his orbit
the curve of his fat belly

9/29/13

split the thick rind
wedge the slit with knives
hands turned into claws
pull the flesh from its cracked shell
golden strands, seeds like white pearls

9/28/13

backyard fence slung with
ivy and white flowers, lights
bobbling on a string
dusk finds us pulled into rings
pressing words to opened hands

9/27/13

electric spiral
births all-knowing zygote drain
suns bloom new, decay
amid checkerboard chaos
lapsed synapse, newly-fused path

9/26/13

the blue-black morning
echos with my cadence:
measured fall of feet,
monotonous sawing of
weak lungs, throat choked with effort

9/25/13

cracks in the sidewalk
crawl with chicory, the last
flowers of the season
fall singes the knotted stems
blushes scarlet the leaf tips

9/24/13

slip under water
tilt back your head, silver throat
open to the sky
your humble stance, legs askew
sweet vulnerability

9/23/13

the evening stillness
broken by a pipe knocking
in the basement wall
upstairs the cat migrates from
bed to bed, her cotton steps

9/22/13

in the coal cellar
the cat snuffs, pawing boxes
touching cold concrete
she probes the perimeter
tail hung with cobwebs and dust

9/21/13

the day's rain, endless
dangling streamers of grey crepe
and shuttered windows;
at sunset a lone pink beam
sets fire across the river

9/20/13

benzaldehyde whiff
dizzy from butter's richness
and the soaring heat
sheet after sheet of cookies
hearts and wreaths to seal their love

9/19/13

the thunder of blood
and I'm blinded by the bloom
of stark white sheets
gnawing feeling that never
subsides, never stills my hands

9/18/13

I part the dark room
with one outstretched hand, grasping
for the bed corner
folding my body for sleep,
I find you, I always do

9/17/13

the embrace of sleep
two soft arms bearing respite
and a yard of rope,
manacles, a pillowcase
to bind my head, and strange dreams

9/16/13

cigarillo puff
floating down the sidewalk, thick
as a man's bare chest
small cloud and I, side by side,
neighbors in the autumn air

9/15/13

velvet galaxy
a milky way of strung beads
and tarnished chainlink
lustrous stars, facets burned warm
where the sun stroked their faces

9/14/13

run, wooden horses
the up-down levers wheezing
in the jewel-lit dark
noses flared, wild eyes all white
spooked team bolting in circles

9/13/13

suspended amid
the brick, an open cypher
of a window frame
and there, behind gauze curtains,
the smooth line of a boy's back

9/12/13

sky shook down on us
stifling mornings, the cruel heat
waves of roaring rain
she shook us to the same corner
serendipitous junction

9/11/13

my hand's swollen hinge
bust knuckle leaned to one side
with queasy indifference
coddle the ruined joint, prop it
against its neighbor's backbone

9/10/13

iris in the weeds
lush low of purple on dusk
blooming unbidden
she sits frozen at the bus stop
her blank face, her bruised eye

9/9/13

push back the worn vine,
scavenge the wind-fall harvest
marked with black loam
toothed flesh of the fruit, crisp bite
bloomed to sweetness' embrace

9/8/13

back to the warren
we pull close, memories of
warm food and cold hands:
the last false days of summer
sweat through the open window

9/7/13

these neon caverns
lush with painted women, booze
spilled on a bass beat
pull to the corner, notice
the plaster holes, ripped duct tape

9/6/13

five hours, I remained
still as a granite obelisk
parting sun from shadow
the hours pass unbidden
under the hands of my task

9/5/13

shirtless with his scars
wry mouth, ink-flecked fingernails
drinking flat piss beer
a crown for this slouchy king, lord
of hard years and nothingness

9/4/13

the chill prick of fall
slides through the slatted fan blades,
collects in the corners
I wake, half-frozen, feet curled
in the thin refuge of blanket

9/3/13

light spilled off the table
and puddled, honey pools
blushing the worn boards
I tug the curtain half-mast,
hide in the lip of darkness

9/2/13

each exhale chained a twin
syncopated lungs panting out
clipped bruised breaths
a dark spiral opened within
and I curled as if in death

9/1/13

we dine in treetops
emerald ceiling bowed to touch
the rim of your plate
concierge of cicadas
plucked chords of spiderweb prey

8/31/13

stacks of cracked spines, slung
cheek to cheek on sagging shelves
some wet afternoon
your cough, heard across the room
tugging the sleeve of my heart

8/30/13

powder of decay
frosts the web of leaves, yellow
stems thinned to straws
piled lumps of unripe melons
stuck knots in a green shoelace

8/29/13

god bless a cold beer
the way stories tangle tight
head to tail to head
the dog's perked ears, velvet scraps
between my nervous fingers

8/28/13

lace the sinew to

my curved calves, narrow boy hips

trimmed down to meat

the blood bolts, singing through

newly forged paths of my body

8/27/13

crossing dark water

the gentle humped backbone

of the unspooling bridge

summer evening cleft by

the white skin of concrete

8/26/13

basil bolted, ruined

by flowering flotillas

the cloud-like sway

a ragged leaf mashed to paste

warns an acrid bite, no good

8/25/13

the skinless fruit, moist

and sweating in my cupped palm

parting into fat halves

the snarling tooth of the knife

the nicked web of my curled thumb

8/24/13

the glare and the blight

heat-shimmer and bleached-out rock

cupping warm bathwater

pink lungs rattle with pain

my stomach leans uneasily

8/23/13

racing down the hill

a friend’s bike, his reckless grin

snapped back, stunned moment

flying, tethered by a chain

caught around his tender neck

8/22/13

a splash of water
stacks of wet dishes, puddled
in the steel sink
outside a brace of lightning
and a steady night rain

8/21/13

four thousand faces
unlined, warmed by youthful joy
shouting at the sun;
behind a rock, small omens
paper-thin skull, fanned feathers

8/20/13

I am downtown, mired
between suits and cigarettes
dazzled by the noise
I clutch my lifeline, swallow
down pain and vomit, cyclic

8/19/13

the same old zero
shuffling, fists balled in pockets
with a bad-luck eye
Sam said 'fail again, fail better'
I say he's got my number

8/18/13

heaps of velvet, felled
on the border of roadside
amid the tall weeds
I think of doll-sized fur coats
sleeping minks, missing kittens

8/17/13

my blood's exhaustion
the trembling muscles, shaking
with adrenaline
I breathe and close my eyes, sense
the body's swift work of repair

8/16/13

astroturf, green nap
rolling a florescent ball
through peeled-paint windmills
street lamp spotlights, flat shadows
pooling in the eighteenth hole

8/15/13

the half-lit theater
rows of folding chairs, unhinged
and thick with listeners
in the back a cooler weeps
ice melting between glass bottles

8/14/13

cold breezes punch through
august's false sun, promising
pinprick autumn nights
front stoop tomatoes waver
between ripe fruit, withered leaves

8/13/13

full of vinegar
salted wounds, back-bitten bile
sneers and smashed windows
cross as a tired child
I call quits and march to bed

8/12/13

the hum of the fan
and evening cicadas.
we sleep like children
splayed on the old quilt; the days
are growing shorter. fall waits.

8/11/13

warm woozy sunshine
shoe soles melting, the brick heat
of the sidewalk home
my belly is full of gin
I just want to sit and smile

8/10/13

the curved river bank
lays bare the morning vista
thrust of glass buildings
we duck under bridges, feet
push us west then turn homeward

8/9/13

fat wheeled suitcases
click seconds on the tile floor
wobble down hallways
one pale face then another
disembark, unfold smiles

8/8/13

small disappointments
sit like sparrows on your arms,
petty indulgence:
the dissolution of plans
lost hours, the meal unsavored

8/7/13

the evening gridlock
cars pile into crosswalks
animal insistence
the sky spits wind, sallow tones
the rapid slew of storm clouds

8/6/13

rowhouses, uneven
tightly packed as front teeth
black before the dawn
here and there a single light
one heart beats to wakefulness

8/5/13

ripped web of bedsheets
my feet knotted together
sweat glued to my spine
I pinch my eyes shut, churn sleep
in the hum of a box fan

8/4/13

every window open
to the cool blue evening
perch at the table
a glowing beacon, still life
with pen and lowball glass

8/3/13

ratty tea towels
a dozen masons boiled
glass parched by the heat
steam and sugar, afternoon
alchemy, hot pepper jam

8/2/13

creekwater and corn
overripe fruit, smashed puce bruise
wet coin-metal tang
bouquet of cheap beer, spare
yellow trace to be forgotten

8/1/13

anonymity
a slim promise on a street
thick with harried people
two eyes can turn off course, find
home in a stray brave glance

7/31/13

pink dusk, empty streets
new cicadas grind a chant
husky summer song
circle like druids, arms raised
bounty and birth our blessings

7/30/13

a piebald nightmare
grease-soaked feathers lashed to bones
picking gutter crumbs
bedraggled, limp and totter
on warped and tumorous feet

7/29/13

sweep the sand away
stoke a pyre to scorch
a thousand years of strife
cherish this new void, hold it
where your heart once weakly hummed

7/28/13

summer of make-do
lean pockets and no real plans
to fill the long day
scrounge twenty, cheap beer to cap
event-less afternoon daze

7/27/13

smell of creek water

clings to my hair like algae

waving, rock-bound rust

I slip under the surface

feet pressed against the furred stones

7/26/13

the sun sets hotly
singeing weeds, blinding hillsides
baking the gray dust
in the cool of the castle
stray winds run through the courtyard

7/25/13

kitchen addition
our childish spaghetti
swift nick of chili
greens and garlic; our palates
carved to spoon fruit of the earth

7/24/13

the sun rose, brand new,

like it wasn't tired of this

sour old up and down

stand under the fresh circuit

feel the first rays fall to earth

7/23/13

dark morning hour
the thumb of nightfall still pressed
to the sleeping streets
the moon slips from the sky, a drunk
vanishing from a bar stool

7/22/13

my keeling ship, ten
feet of rope to lash my hands
to the shaking wheel
adrift in this wild sea
I grit my teeth and pull north

7/21/13

spillage of small stones
pastel houses cloaked with vines
cracked concrete, wild weeds
streets coil and branch, endless
as days fall to wet evenings

7/20/13

drum beats, heartbeats, sweat
thighs shake, muscle and sinew
grinding to the noise
the thin sling of a whistle
cuts through like a laser beam

7/19/13

my two-ton head, squared
as an anvil, pounded smooth
by hosts of hammers
I drag it across the room
the dead weight, the crooked neck

7/18/13

the flat hand of heat
clamped over our mouths; dim noon,
the oven's belly
ice dwindling in a glass
dish of cold grapes furred with frost

7/17/13

grease-soaked paper bags
chinese take out, white boxes
the curl of red ink
we spoon rice on the front porch;
husband and wife of three years

7/16/13

air a cubic mile
chain of dew suspended,
creeping swelter wall
clouds roll on tank tracks, hover
heavy and deadly, bad men

7/15/13

piano wire nest
on the hot sidewalk, hammers
and pins like lost eggs
the rotting carapace, smashed
mahogany funeral

7/14/13

sun leaks through curtains
pulled tight to blind this house
the still dark air within
an avocado stem shimmies
in the breeze of a box fan

7/13/13

in this tin-roof bar
we unwind the evening hours
over bunts and runs
baskets of popcorn, cold beer
the bat cracks, we stand to leave

7/12/13

inversion of two
your wonderless passage home
my keen displacement
race down city streets solo
eyes glued to your graffiti

7/11/12

crack the spines, white scars
and yellowed pages, dog-eared
creases of affection
stack these treasures, brittle leaves
and the scent of vanilla

7/10/13

the sky broke open
let loose a thousand clenched fists
on the morning streets
punch-drunk and soaked, we scrambled
for bus doors, our mouths agape

7/9/13

smoke-hued feathers
plumes of steel, red-earth and lead
layer in disarray
patchwork tussle of pigeons
stabbing beaks at spilled breadcrumbs

7/8/13

eyes peeled open, raw
from gummy half-sleep, clenched hours
adrift in a dark room
my head is filled with stuck gears
gauze and words I keep from you

7/7/13

we perch, tenterhooked
on the lip of darkness, deep
black ocean trenches
our eyes hoist flags, plunge curtains
scramble to form blind order

7/6/13

thrift store bric-à-brac
chipped saucers and stone kittens
pink pasteboard boxes
glass bottles with a thick inch
of syrupy pine cologne

7/5/13

coffee on the steps
painting my toenails in the
early morning sun
my unlit house is full
of silence and sleeping men

7/4/13

the sweating alley
bricks baked red, hissing steam
from sweat drops, spilled beers
aunties and uncles make time,
share seats, mouths lined with years

7/3/12

the dim bulb glows orange
in the darkness, filament
a thread of lava
we talk in shadows, glasses
sweating under summer stars

7/2/13

woodsmoke and cured meat
the scent is everywhere, curls
through parted curtains
cicada sunset, cool dark
graveyard full of fireflies

7/1/13

overnight green stems
thrust up, thick and verdant, sweep
out in search of sun
turn the pot, hear hymns of praise
drifting from the knotted roots

6/30/13

inkwell sky, lightning
flashes of neon, rumbing
mechanical churn
hoist my charm in the midway
he takes a photo, laughing

6/29/13

standing in a lot
hands deep in dirt, tangle of
weeds at my wet feet
rain-swollen clouds perch above
threaten mildly, cross house cats

6/28/13

sky crowded with stars
wall of buildings stand sentry
flush us to water
we fight our way upstream, swift feet,
bridge muddled with people

6/27/13

the thump and rattle
from the basement; lay supine
cradled glass of ice
below, the laundry creaks dry
upstairs two beds stripped faceless

6/26/13

in the unlit room
manila pages gather
the setting sun
faded text and cheap black ink
hold tight a world I've not seen

6/25/13

black sky empties
over this cut in the rock
its broken houses
cowpath streets fill with water
asphalt creekbed, hail, torn leaves

6/24/13

the heat clings thickly
in the darkened house, windows
seeking slim breezes
fish two olives from the jar
respite in the salty brine

6/23/13

I pull weeds barefoot
stacks of plantain and crabgrass
wither in the sun
I leave the buds of purslane
tender red jewels, small kindness

6/22/13

the empty chalet
dark wood and still sooty flues
double-wide doorways
flung to reveal sallow slopes,
parched grass baking in the sun

6/21/13

we move like clockwork
stirring pots, chopping spinach
pressing tortillas
a woman with three heads and
twelve arms, feeding an army

6/20/13

you call the sun out
to perch over my shoulder
the day of your birth
glasses of ice water melt
beside our hands, locked fingers

6/19/13

make the rounds, press hands
as the band comes alive in
a ping pong chorus 
I collar you at the bar
to hand you a slice of cake

6/18/13

lay with silent ease
legs entwined, stacked like cut wood
bellies warm and fed
from one squinted eye your smile
stretches into horizon

6/17/13

hold this absence
like a pulled tooth in your mouth
the gap between houses;
a blank spot on the sidewalk
still casts a shadow

6/16/13

how many footfalls
take us from flattened flood plain
to rocky hilltop
two-hundred cement steps and
the rattle of our pink lungs

6/15/13

thimble of bourbon
on the red porch, lean legs crossed
in a painted chair
night falls in the tree city
headlights and wood knots and us

6/14/13

flip the record, love
or put on something crazy;
let me feel the beat
a line of empty beer cans
stack of empty cardboard sleeves

6/13/13

storm clouds roll by, thick
tongues of moisture, wide
furrows in the sky
plants climb and volley, green shock
to the wet lawn, the grey dusk

6/12/13

erase my footsteps
forget my words, break my teeth
push me out breech-birth
leave me under a toadstool
tonight I curl with the worms

6/11/13

had that dream again
where I cannot see your face
only your thin curls
I whisper to them, how much
you are loved, how you are missed

6/10/13

early morning fog
shrouds this muggy monday ride
into the city
a mayfly corpse curls, thin prawn
in the well of my window

6/9/13

this billy goat girl
ripping vines from the side wall
with flat shoepeg teeth
she grinds stems into green cud
and turns, bleating, in the weeds

6/8/13

there was some trouble
on the way home; the drawn pit
the broken spirit
men are worth their golden weight
but still we catch eyes and doubt

6/7/13

in the darkened bar
the boys throw darts, trade mild barbs
curse the cramped bullseye
they hoist and set their wet mugs
chaining rings on the table

6/6/13

a bounty of leaves
folded and bound; chlorophyll
staining fingernails
wash the grit from the pale root
rip the leaves and make them bleed

6/5/13

cook in the kitchen
barefoot, sway your hips with a
cup of rye and ice
record spinning, hopeless drift
eight-ball avocado pits

6/4/13

a sunny lunch hour
in the park, book propped open
the palm's shallow crook
warm your spine on the cement
brain lurching with bitten words

6/3/13

a head of cabbage
hides a heart-shaped core; he boils
water, stirs the sauce
his polish bride rolls golabki
harmony in the kitchen

6/2/13

clusters of houses
fairy-rings of beige mushrooms
bloom in fallow fields
doors locked, shades pulled tight to blind
blank faces of behemoths

6/1/13

in a sunny field
wine mingles, glass is broken
under the groom's heel
the bride laughs, her chair hoisted
by a sea of loving hands

5/31/13

ancient rockface, wet
with spring water, braids thick woods
to the pebbled cliff
blue mountains recede behind
acres of empty ozone

5/30/13

spiderweb glasscracks
and the amber rush of rye
puddling below
the head-sore heat of the room
ruined bottle on the bed

5/29/13

my new favorite song
the sugar in my coffee
sleepy morning kiss
simple wednesday pleasures, joy
the art of proximity

5/28/13

I pray on the wings
of bus rides and coffee shops
street-corner glances
I pray to the god of names
to put mine in your strange mouth

5/27/13

majestic zero
day of anthills and tv
fridge door swung open
I melt into the couch-weave
worthless hours, humbled body

5/26/13

blue-black street corner
missed buses make long evenings
on a storefront stoop
press my head to your shoulder
I close my eyes between cars

5/25/13

the strange riverside
strewn with pumice, black coal shards
nervous flight of swifts
clouds of purple-blooming vetch
draw us to the muddy bank

5/24/13

sand diplomacy
the ground shifts below your boots
compacts and expands
the weight of your saber, hung
like a corpse in a scabbard

5/23/13

you pour your guts out
shield the strings with metaphors
or bark it out straight
reveal it tenderly or
shake it in your knotted fist

5/22/13

old men sip o'douls
and the players strum dixie,
keen craggy, veined hands
he nods and mouths the words, swung
by his wife's throaty burlesque

5/21/13

a fledgeling plummets
and shocked, bounces, beak agape
under the rosebush
tongue-thrust and squeaking, she runs
between my feet and takes wing

5/20/13

the sun retreats and
we're left in this dark bedroom
sweat, sotto voices
blind, i feel for your sweet face
hear my heart beat in my bones

5/19/13

a day to move dirt
drag life into the corners
of your slim domain
wash the grime from your skin, drink
deep and observe your hands' work

5/18/13

I was in a cave
and then not. My eyes burned with
the overcast sky.
Up the hill, the sound of birds,
spittlebug nests in the weeds.

5/17/13

eight at the table
and we laugh too loud, order
too many refills
I've shared beers with these scoundrels
since we cut our teeth, laughing

5/16/13

the thick midweek slog
caught half-way, foot half-lifted
to step, lungs half-full
chalky pill half-swallowed, count
minutes till the brain floats, numb

5/15/13

branches weave themselves
thick ribbon in the chainlink
knotting the steel grid
I run a hacksaw through them
untangle the greenish cords

5/14/13

with gloved hands I grab
sinewy stems and flat leaves
two-toned as poison
I tear the shoots down, expose
the knotted trunk, gnarled old heart

5/13/13

paean to labor
careful chopping, the warm stove
pile of clean dishrags
fold it, tuck it in a drawer
make order in your young home

5/12/13

the family album
lines of children, long-gone cat
in grandmother's arms
swaddled faces of babies
winking crows-feet beside me

5/11/13

in the grocery store
the same yankee faces but
now they are my age;
no one sees the grass spider
lost and scrambling in the aisles

5/10/13

my mother and I
hang our hats to a shared tune
in the weekday sun:
long walks along the creekbeds
and a stiff afternoon drink

5/9/13

golden sunset hours
light slanting on the hillside
the rosy red bricks
we stand in a vacant lot
listen for peeping fledglings

5/8/13

bell-shaped flowers bloom
in the space between old bricks
purfume and pebbles
heavy heads droop on the bus
sore for sleep, tired blossoms

5/7/13

caverns of water
dragon's gold and diamonds, lost
amid the boulders
I spin stories in the air
above sweet sleeping faces

5/6/13

thin mist afternoon
my hollow head whistles clean
in the cold spring breeze
pigeons sip from a puddle
touch beaks in bashful circles

5/5/13

his hand on her thigh
stop and go hours, trapped
ohio highway
plates of diner spaghetti
cool under their hooked glances

5/4/13

muddied wreath of roses
share smokes on a tar rooftop
the flat wet skyline
inside folks kiss and laugh loud
the whiskey so cold and sweet

5/3/13

the emerald tunnel
stained glass streets, wisteria
sighing on the vine
these empty sidewalks belie
an acre of green mondays

5/2/13

the streets are hopping
sidewalk promenade, gossip
by the corner store
bags of ice and cigarettes
make their way homeward

5/1/13

crumbling hillside bricks
old trees anchored to shale plates
cowpaths and violets
the warm air mingles the scent
of new growth and swift decay

4/30/13

feel the dark rising
shifting seapools of bile
malevolent tide
this drowned cur will drag to shore
her scissor teeth spread, rictus

4/29/13

I know every inch
of this pale landscape, the scabs
and scars, vacant lots
the hollow by the river
where currants muddle and stray

4/28/13

a rain-drenched morning
I run to the bakery
wet shoes, open door
the air is moist with live yeast
gossip and fresh loaves of rye

4/27/13

stopped cars interlace
like stalled bricks, smoggy stonework
crumbling sun-baked clay
we wait like mummies, brain dead
in stuffy sarcophagi

4/26/13

rebar ribcage, flaked
with rust, and an I-beam spine
cut through my thin core
hang my flesh from these hooks
and see the strength of my smirk

4/25/13

gutter stutter-step
pigeons coo and bob, spin toes
and court in the trash
tires roll by, the birds scatter
feathers, breadcrumbs and shit

4/24/13

ionic cloudscape
ominous sea-shifts backlit
cracking claps of air
the wind whips grit and strange rain
onto braced cheeks, black sidewalks

4/23/13

I apologize
for my dead-weight broken tongue
the measured withdrawl
quiet evening in the dark
my beer slushy with ice chips

4/22/13

voices shout to claim
the fatal proximity
edge tight to the fire
but I want to know the space
between visits, glances, months

4/21/13

butter with your bread
in this old hidden farmhouse
we swore we were lost
until the vista opened
land and pink sky, sweet tandem

4/20/13

barroom handshakes and
rumors from the ratskeller
tongues creep around beers
catch my face in the mirror
wan consort boxed in walnut

4/19/13

this cold blue-black night
like the bottom of the sea
mariana trench
spine-straight, I carve my way home
ceaseless shark, my dagger jaw

4/18/13

summerwarm evening
and familiar street faces
appear everywhere
I want to touch each shoulder
celebrate our survival

4/17/13

branchtips dyed chartreuse
unfolding infant leafbuds
and dusty catkins
the air is pollen thick and
hums like a swarm of mayflies

4/16/13

roll in like a fog
blur my vision to greasestreaks
blackjack my temple
I waiver in a bus seat
blank behind my sunglasses

4/15/13

hang my heart within
a tangled nest of wires
snakes and octopi
scrub the suction-cup bruises
swollen collarbone kisses

4/14/13

halo of whiskers
trembling, charcoal fluff-cloud
back feet tense as wire
rodent heart ticking between
my laced fingers, soft-pressed palms

4/13/13

crimson el topo
against the messy landscape
purple swirling sky
bang the butt of your rifle
on your hip and start shooting

4/12/13

bachelor evenings
hot peppers and canned black beans
cheap beer, sliced lemon
lay with an open window
and parse the chants of songbirds

4/11/13

triangle tendons
nerves pull tight and knot like snakes
the spine, finned backbones
stretch my pale skin taut, reveal
the punch of blood, the ill node

4/10/13

thunderheads migrate
like lowing cattle into
the river valley
darkness drops, a black hide hung
and hooves spark distant rumbles

4/9/13

two pointed brown wings
harnessed by a scrap of bone
newsprint thin ribcage
sleek swoop of death hinged in flight
and pinned to the warming dirt

4/8/13

dodecahedron
microscopic gemstone grit
caustic white luster
sugar split on the counter
blown diamond mine, bad omen

4/7/13

confluence of wires
street corner trapeze knotted
with morning dove coos
spring touches every rowhouse
the throat of every sparrow

4/6/13

huddle in the cave
day-drinking light beer, folding
cards on wet bar top
sun-blind afternoon can wait
burn our backs on the walk home

4/5/13

my magnet blood pulls
and aligns, dark avenues
pheromones and beer
steetlight on my knotted neck
venus rules this house tonight

4/4/13

the era of thaw
falcons turn their rooftop eggs
and hunt, merciless
explosion of white feathers
in the tender newborn grass

4/3/13

he showed up again
hiking through my horoscope
a glacial presence
dark beard in forest shadows
blue-eyed Scot my dead double

4/2/13

bad-luck vaudeville boy
and his gamine pool pennies
for a boardwalk date:
empty pockets, shared hotdogs
and a swift daylight tumble

4/1/13

orion glitters
over our bare heads, dark streets
the hill-walk homeward
we pass from peak to plateau
sleepy tableland village

3/31/13

grey shadow crying
in the corner of the room
squat haunches, bared teeth
I fold the cat in my arms
her wounded purr, her heartbeat

3/30/13

gravel parking lot
tucked in the woods, dusty bricks
and the first sunshine
coatless in the spring breeze
beads of light on your shoulders

3/29/13

thin whine of sirens
horizon clouded with plumes
fat greasy black smoke
the shock of the blaze, the calm
hollow morning, good friday

3/28/19

peep of the sparrow
brevity perched on a branch
gone in an eyeblink
poems can balance on the pause
between the words omitted

3/27/13

still the diseased flesh
layer the blanket, wrap the cord
supine and silent
bless the battle waged within,
prayer in the sarcophagus

3/26/13

practice patience, child
walk carefully, speak kindly
daily sneer unstitched
unlock your heart to perceive
what the universe provides

3/25/13

unwanted snowfall
on the dead grass continues
our dying springtime
stuff my ears with screaming soul
bass thumps and I keep walking

3/24/13

ringed snakes nose blindly
lizards kick, the opossum snarls
toothy spitting hiss
fall asleep and dream about
the sprung ghosts of animals

3/23/13

build your own altar
count your teeth and hammer nails
show the universe
that your hands grasp what they need
and offerings flow backwards

3/22/13

an hour and ten
navigating crumbling rock
and street-lit gutters
bus doors open, pooling light
then vanish like meteors

3/21/13

thick-tongued brain half-drifts
beyond my tilted, hung head
swallowing horse pills;
nerves accelerate, lights flash
fingers tremble and weave tight

3/20/13

spring equinox snow
blows to the mouth of our den
we raise our noses
turn to curl our warm bodies
palms on skin, breathing stilled air

3/19/13

clouds bolt through the air
spit ice flakes while whirling winds
scream past my window
inside I am cut of stone
mired to earth, dumb-cut, untouched

3/18/13

a guttural growl
flash of teeth, ivory needles
and the fangs sink in
my gut lurches, I feel the
blossom of claws on my womb

3/17/13

diamond-eyed kittens
cartoon belles, pealing sirens
droning coin-drop clicks
stale casino air tastes like
cigarettes and diet coke

3/16/13

fog and damp pavement

lit by pools of kelly green

plastic beads, trinkets

women pass a flask, huddle

for warmth before the parade

3/15/13

blue eyes, mineral
and my own clumsy fingers
broadened to man-size
my brother walks beside me
grinning peter pan shadow

3/14/13

the sun, cloud-ridden
sulks slowly through the sky, late
to each hour's station
the lassitude of the day
weight of the stationary

3/13/13

a small dark morning
city still night-lit, omens
in the blue beacons
the sky begins to rain stones
prove to us her majesty

3/12/13

my skull has shattered
beaten by a restless mind
to a snapped-chalk pulp
my brain paces, a tiger
sniffing the same stained cement

3/11/13

one thousand mouths leak
diesel exhaust, great plumes of
dense carcinogens;
breathe in one thousand exhales
on this grimy city block

3/10/13

sun-warmed concrete steps
cut from cracked-glass gullies
to shining hill tops
a crumbling umbilicus
to our satellite bedrooms

3/9/13

sugar your coffee
in the afternoon shade, shoot
arrows, embrace tight;
in the brick-strewn backyard
the dog ran her foot bloody

3/8/13

a pint glass pixie
clockwork songbird singing for
long-nailed emperors
i open my throat, the crowd
behind me woozy and warm

3/7/13

standing by the sink
to wash a mug, steep mint tea
radio mumbling
the cat curls fox-wise, sleeping
I sip and dream of summer

3/6/13

spring cacophony
ankle-deep snow thaws into
streams of cold water;
eight-hour blizzard erased
in a sunny afternoon

3/5/13

swift change is coming
I can taste it in my mouth
salt, ammonia
clouds race across the sky, wet
with snow to cloak early spring

3/4/13

ring the broken chord
spark the spacewalk, spiral fills
claustrophobic drums
I'll walk this beat out downtown
my head hung in the ether

3/3/13

two-thousand green miles
a ribbon spooling over
creekbeds, mountain stones
my swift feet ache for the trail
my tongue, six months of silence

3/2/13

pile the bed with sheets
worn blankets, hope-chest quilts seed
the afternoon nap
our sleepy limbs tangle like
kudzu climbing phone pole wires

3/1/13

ring the tamborine
shake the room with bass and sweet
reedy harmonies
it's so dark and tonight we're
drunk in love and alive

2/28/13

snow turns to cold rain
the alley is full of trash
and tired cooks smoking
under a ripped umbrella
my head, shorn like joan of arc

2/27/13

taking the night bus
I peer out the dark window
wet streets, the walk home
three beers slosh in my belly
on the yellow-lit sidewalk

2/26/13

a cairn of stones, heaped
rough-hewn boulders, flattened rounds
pond bottom pebbles
each day remove a handful
watch the lean body vanish

2/25/13

saucer-eyed pea brain
dustrag moppet meowing high
and thin for supper
she drops, purring, from my arms
to sulk pretty on the stairs

2/24/13

strong unsweet coffee
records spinning in the haze
nag champ and sunshine
beyond the slatted blinds cars
drive up and down the mountain

2/23/13

your sleepy lion face
squints at my staircase foot falls,
jewelry box rummage
you lay your head back and smile
man of my house, my heart's pride

2/22/13

cap a week hard won
bring a dark pint to your mouth
by the high river
parse the the grain and malt between
cheek and tooth, the cup and lip

2/21/13

we traffic in words
breathe them into seashell ears
cocked in reception
the air is swarmed with thoughts: pull
them down, love, and give them names

2/20/13

sweet cord of my days
frayed from mending these pale weeks
pulls taut, tight and snaps
a hawk tumbles from the sky
and screams, tangled in a bush

2/19/13

i am a glass pane
a jar of water, a gust
blamed on a meek ghost
doors close before me, open
for nothing but swirling snow

2/18/13

slip slip stitch, knit one
yarn over with stiff fingers
turn the work, make one
the needles click whispers in
strange language of creation

2/17/13

we found a staircase
winding from a wet gutter
to a high hilltop
we paused at the top, breathless
eyes tracing the grid of streets

2/16/13

hamster in a nest
of tea cups and kleenexes
pillows and sour soup
i watch night fall, bleary-eyed, 
from the mouth of my tunnel

2/15/13

I lean my head back
as we skirt down Liberty
in the lush black night
eyes closed I know every lurch
and rise of the orbit home

2/14/13

buckets of roses
kitten heels, commuters clutch
cellophane bouquets
the gulf tower glows red and
the whole city is in love

2/13/13

on the wet-black roads
snow gleams like a candle flame
but when i look up
millions of flakes fill the sky,
a universe of dark stars

2/12/13

within the cavern
of thick sleep the mind turns
to observe itself:
forms open like bird's plumage
hanging from a flowered branch

2/11/13

trees are full of ghosts
plastic bags choke the branches
shredded by the wind
a twisting gust chills my bones
and rattles the strange harvest

2/10/13

winter walls feel close
I look out every window
and walk between rooms
in the deep month of winter
the clouds hang, claustrophobic

2/9/13

patchwork afternoon
flowers, trash-picked living rooms
bold women grinning
I remember being broke
twenty-four and transcendent

2/8/13

a vision of mouths
wood and charcoal, a long beard
and drawing blackness
I knot thread round my finger
and squint, try to remember

2/7/13

hunched over the desk
red wine and the radio
leaking small voices
razor between my fingers
scraps of paper at my feet

2/6/13

snowfall tracks cat paws
reveals her nightly sojourn:
a rest on the stoop
the disruption of smooth snow
where she slipped under the fence

2/5/13

watch the breath taken
slow rise of shoulder, exhale
like a soft word sighed
in scattered hillside homes lungs
pull in and out, mark the night

2/4/13

my boots crunch salt and
silty streetwater as I
eyeball the masses:
one hundred strangers walk by
ciphers smoking cigarettes

2/3/13

a step and a gasp
my leg locks in the cold air
with a deep dull pain
I brace on the chain-link fence
and coax the joint to motion

2/2/13

a flash of turquoise
reveals two peacocks, scratching
for grain in a drift.
snow gathers on their limp trains,
white lace shrouding bronze-green eyes

2/1/13

on frigid pavement
sputum puddles freeze into
grey slicks of pond ice;
in a drafty gallery
we drink wine amid nail holes

1/31/13

squalls blow sheets of snow
opaque as lambs' wool, cold as
a mid-winter birth
we gather at the table
warm our hands with a shared meal

1/30/13

a black sky downpour
spun me to the entryway
of a jewelry shop;
in the wet vestibule I
met the gaze of a soaked dove

1/29/13

deep clouds beheaded
the dark skyscrapers, left them
standing like mute stumps.
behold the foggy ax blade:
atmospheric slight-of-hand

1/28/13

warm rains cracked and dashed
the salty ice, erasing
winter from the earth
I stood in a numb fuzz, a
buzzing state of novocaine

1/27/13

we witchy women
gather over plates of eggs
and exchange hexes
passing vials of blessed oils:
love potions, evil eye wards

1/26/13

wings fill the thorn bush
spry sparrows chatter and hop
fluff their dingy coats
I throw them bread crumbs, watch them
sink up to their knees in snow

1/25/13

a moonlit snowfall
dusky sky smouldering above
these soft velvet hills
the air hangs still and muted
between the far shore and here

1/24/13

plates of ice float in
the steaming Allegheny
like mute coal barges;
their water weeps to mingle
with the wide knotted rivers

1/23/13

to still my shiver
I imagine my body
a column of ice:
a dark hollow heart frozen
in a web of cracked crystal

1/22/13

a day to keep warm
from the biting chill outside
stir rice and beans and
sit by the radiator
with a thick book in your lap

1/21/13

we fill her pockets
as we cut through the side streets
eyes pinned to the curb
buttons, fake flowers, torn books
souvenirs of the city

1/20/13

this endless city
tunneled under and over
and crawling with souls
I walk a dark street, head down
in the howling bitter wind

1/19/13

the bear swings his jaws
teeth ferrying a thick pane
of dripping pond ice;
fifteen harvest mice huddle
in the eye of a needle

1/18/13

half-remembered streets
dioramas, gemstones, bones
and polish delis
we celebrate my birthday
with a bodega cupcake

1/17/13

candy-colored dice
tea and reams of graph paper
herald adventure;
I slice skeletons in half
and stroke the cat in my lap

1/16/13

our names now adorn
an inch of mumbo jumbo
and a hilltop home.
we celebrate with hoagies
and a street corner liplock

1/15/13

we cut a swift path
through the tail end of traffic
fleeing the city;
ensconced in tacky stucco
birthday girls eat their pasta

1/14/13

the day struck me mute
to wake from strange dreams to face
chaos null and void
I slouch in a bus seat, press
my forehead against the glass

1/13/13

our feet eat the miles
avenues and alleyways
bridges and steep hills
we rest our legs and drink pops
before the long walk back home

1/12/13

In the too-warm air
I cross the bridge with bags full
of sprouts and bean curd;
later on we fold wontons
over cups of rooibos tea

1/11/13

this strange humid air
raises fog from cement lots
and dew in our hair
thick clouds escape the smoke stacks
and drift sideways, pinned to earth

1/10/13

speech, miasma, fire
destruction spreads like disease
as my clenched brow boils
I awake in a dark room
pinned by the weight of blankets

1/9/13

black cloud horizon
reveals a shock of pink light;
buildings rise up and
recede behind each other
like philip glass violins

1/8/13

my feet dig trenches
on this patch of cold concrete
i visit daily
I've stood a hundred days here
without speaking, my mind blank

1/7/13

dark weeks of evenings
leaving in darkness like bats
today the air changes
I stand between skyscrapers
and crane my neck. daylight. there.

1/6/13

careful concoction
star anise, cinnamon stick
onion, clove, garlic
we slurp rice noodles and sip
the broth, the burn of chili

1/5/13

we lunch like old folks
soup and sandwiches shared
at the stroke of noon
our house fills with loving scents
frying onions and warm skin

1/4/13

eight hundred million
the number of crows swooping 
from the north hilltops
like black snowfall, they cover
the bald face of the mountain

1/3/13

pushed against a wall
the handcuffed man cranes his neck
eyes searching the crowd
we walk by like we can't see
bound by the code of shared streets

1/2/13

we return to work
wrapped in scarves and sniffling
coughing in crosswalks
smiling across the bus aisle
at neighbors and strangers both

1/1/13

cold morning after
darkened storefronts, empty stoops
the streets are empty
party hats and wet streamers
stomped into the slushy snow