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.

clinging to what won’t
stop moving?

to us keep from
fossilizing

to three hundred
count thread

despite cravings to
watch sun
climb

to
heights
unperceived-

uprooted to
leave.

bending a fifth
string-

gushing sedimental
sentiment

in company of
critics

i seldom know
what not
to say,

deeply content with
incomplete-

despite fleeting need
to patch old
wrongs-

to wander where i
don’t belong.

you’re a chord change
in quicksand
song

rewound to skip
the fade,

smokescreens only delay
mirror’s gaze,

each surface
blemish-

a stroke of
genius,

both hands firmly on
your helmet,

i spit hornets
but half mean it,

watching a dove
land

in desert hand
of man

like shrine to
longing.