lacquered in rust
moon-

stranger staggers into
swamp gut
saloon

and cocks his lips
at a dancing
broom,

feathers too frayed to
salvage such
room.

ballerina frets
her best

come the end may
amount to
less

than a puddle of dribble
in last call
spittoon-

a hope-wrenching notion
however untrue.

so why don’t
i read..

likely it’s paper
allergy-

perhaps the sockets
of my soul

are glutted with
weeds,

a mind shaped seed
between my
teeth,

the perfect
book

was
make belief.

stiff back turned
to day,

nursing thrift store
injuries

midst molar
decay

rooted in held breath
histories

share little left
to say,

chased back into
the wild

where grizzly bears
bleed grey.

a verse about
little,

sliver of time’s
string,

the best of all
i had

plucked from
the past

wilting like a
whisper

at peace on the
tip of my
finger

or wasted to
wind

like wasps on
skin.