dismissed as threat
to public,
swatting bat wings
at pass-out
spots,
pitching buttered
popcorn
at
parade of lawmen
mowing-
overperforming-
hand in
coat
plucking tightrope
to hear it
snap
zap crackle pop
of coke-can
candle..
wax sucked from
the tap.
stream o0f conscious
kindled by bonfire of
keepsakes,
a toothless kid still lingers,
likes his candy
by the nickel by
the shovel
sucker sticks in
pockets
stuck
together,
in back row of splash
paint bus,
mostly friendly
girl’s face
that pretty shade
of dirty-
shrugs like age won’t
waste us.
rush empty
now-
everyone
out
of spun web
mouth,
on fog breath
routes,
reflection’s
grey..
frostbitten
teeth
latch coward
needs
gums bled to
drought
don’t reach
for me
no matter
depth,
not of my
head-
the genie’s
out.
these bloodless
fingers
tap cinders from
unlit cigar,
smog billows
within,
the
char of
black tea breath
on skim milk
skin,
bathwater swirls,
i clutch at
pearls
like
stars liquify
once peeled from eyes..
do sting
in warning winds.
point not as
i fail,
no such beast treks
these woods
since autumn laid
its smell,
hear not as
i tell
like i’ve never
lived the
tale,
trapper without
map
back to safety net’s
missing mesh,
beast now roams
off grid,
unplug to watch
eyes dim
like stars
through drowsy slits.
hands in the garden 