Polaroid SX-70

We sit side by side
The holey blue chair
Scabbed, scraped knees
Aligned, exposed
Arms to the side
Obedient little soldiers
Cheese on command.

Your disheveled bowl cut
My wispy pixie bob
Maybe we had just
Explored the basement:
The Chemistry Room
Blowing dust off of
Little glass vases left behind
Or squeaked and squealed
In the house of weebles.

We always pulled wings off
Ladybugs from the weeping willow
So they wouldn’t leave us.

What did our smiles know
That we forgot?

Again

When it comes
to baring oneself,
there are always

plenty of
words, no
guarantees.One
always loves

more than
the other.
The high, then
the sinking

Feeling
in the pit of
your tummy.

Every thing becomes
nothing. Words are
sludge on a wall of

old vines that pierce
and twist into
the heart time
and time
again.

creeper

i peer through the lattice
hot breath beneath the misty reflection

and there you are,
bun and bathrobe
type-type-typing away

i shake with glee
at the thought of
extracting your eyes
one by one
though I don’t have a clue as to what color they are

no matter. I am sure they will make
a lovely garnish in
a well-mannered dirty martini
to sip while you simmer
thrashing for me to stir you up

To the Pretty Lady on the 19

There is more to me
Than you can see.
Why won’t you smile my way?
Is it my wiry, wispy beard
That makes your eyes slit
Behind the shades?
Or can you not imagine my tar skin
Wrapped around your milky way?
Could you get past the gimpy limp,
My stammering lisp,
And the haggard hole
In my flannel shirt?
If you would just give me the day
I could manage without my
Duct-taped cane.
You could fit yourself
In the crook of my scarred arm,
And I could hold you up.

clear view

the late may
breeze
flows
through the
sheer pur-
ple curtains,
a silky Caber-
net waterfall.
smelling of
freshly bag-
ed crab car-
casses, it
sways the
old lady’s sheets
as the gnats
lay eggs on
the corners.
out of no-
where, on the
sill, a star-
ling stares me
in the eye,
and i
do not
move.
only
breath
escapes
me.
the oak's leaves
are a song
that only we
can under-
stand.

how fitting

every-thing is nothing:just like
[you]actually
the funniness of it all
is that your carefully-
seamed years
soon might so
shred/oh no
[look]what seemed to
happen/
trim an edge;smooth a corner
= tem x infinity

I Just Need a Lil'

Every now
& then
I just need
a lil’ bill $$
a lil’ beer $$
a lil’ food $$
and every now
& then
I just need
a lil’.