three poems

dirty sidewalk

before the fall, there was an ocean of plasticine
stretching as far as the bouncing ball would permit
and containers were spilling over with enthusiasm and faint hope,
not to be confused with the pandemic that permeates all conscious thought

never before in the history of mankind has there been
such an abundance of nickels and dimes
the truth lies somewhere between here and Kentucky
the rooster crows and the whistle blows
and the breath of a foghorn blows out over the bay

possible outcomes are determined by impossible inputs
her breast-taking beauty only diminished by a lawyer
in a plaid suit, with a briefcase full of sugar
and a dog on a long chain snarling at its own tail.


i'm having trouble

if there is a notion that i cannot bring myself to endorse
it's that there are firestorms that are too splendid to partake in
as if there are lightning bolts that are too dull to damage

five times the window was thrown open
as if the airplane knew how to climb on its own

in the morning,
in the paper candles,
in the hard night
i'm not finished until the last sliver is pulled free


you're having trouble

sparse cameras illuminate an otherwise dreary day
i'm not the kind of frantic phone call you need me to be
blasted straps to hold the whole mess together
and you force it, you'll see what happens when it pops open
like a furnace

i would furnish the house with all your spastic droolings
once, twice, three times an alien
it's obvious that you can't see a thing from where you're standing
if you could, you would have been screaming by now
but instead you're curled up inside that trench coat
whispering sweet nothings to no one in particular
ah, but that's the point, isn't it?
it is better to have loved and lapsed than
to never have hung the cables

what is it you've got there, strapped to your waist
packets of plastic explosives, practically bursting with flavour?
do me a favour and spit out that gum
you're having trouble chewing it and pulling the trigger
at the same time.