Down

If I lie on the ground long enough, will it swallow me up?

Grubby, beige carpet
spread over half-shaven legs,
freckled arms.

Sinking knees,
toes.

A mound.
A soft, carpeted mound.

Unfamiliar soles pressing into my back.

Down.

Deep down

I go,

Into the earth.

Joy Ride

Life's going too fast.
All I can do is hold onto the rail
And hope it slows down.

Nothing Is Anything Without You

"How long do you think it'll be?"
"Oh, it'll be a long time, 'till it dries up--the sea."
"Who will it be? You and me?"
"I'm planning on forever. We'll just wait and see."
"Well, I'll always love you. Total honesty."
"I know, I know. You're my insanity plea."

I Could

Everyday,
I sit at the bus stop for an hour.
I never go anywhere, don't really want to.
I just like knowing that if I did want to,
I could. For that hour, I could.
I could go anywhere.

Idioglossia

Bendable metal
the color of grass

twisted into whatever I like or dislike.
It could be
a man,
the sun,
my hand,
nothing at all.

I think it's impractical, why is it there?
Waste of materials, precious materials.
The cluttered globe has trouble breathing.
It hears me say this

and evolves into a fiend
preparing to dive into my hair
and mold my brain into a guide on how to be
(what everyone expects of you).
I want to scream

but

I-know-it-wants-me-to-so-I-don't.

I twist it into a wand and cast a spell on the world
because oh, how I hate the world.

Stomach, Growling

And as I sat there eating pretzel rods, I realized I was eating my fingers instead.






I guess I was really hungry after all.

Ephipaneasy

My mind shot
out ofthe top of
my skull.

Flakes shimmied down
dusting heads all around.

Synchronous/chorus...
"A-HA!"

Honey in My Hair

The grass beards
were full of ants.
They marched up


and down
our faces
as we
laughed
and laughed.

Let's not race home.
Let's not care.

Living on the Outside of Your Skin

crumpled underneath stars
lost in the monstrous desert
we never knew this would stop
believed we could live forever

Morsels

As they drink
Sweet coffee
Out of old
Dingy shoes
The powdered
Sugar air
Stings their lungs.
The drab girl
Standing at
The counter
Is picking
Moths out of
Cookie dough.

Above them
The ceiling
Stained with milk
Begins to
Crumble on
Their slick heads.
The old floor
Coated in
Cake batter
Finally
Gives up hope
And the girl
With the pair
Drop forever
Into pure
Saccharose
Nothingness.

Us

Sometimes I can't breathe--

asthma.

Other times I can't breathe--

you.

The honey to my fry bread,

coat me in warm confections.

I'm stuck

to your adherent personality,

keeping all right.

A Midwest mindset,

a tenacious Texan.

Chili with beans,

chili without.

Now you are (a part

of) me. And I am

(a part of) you.

Who is to say

who is who?

Crepuscular

Schlepping down uneven cement, this woman wants to believer
nothing is following her rickety shadow. Snot tendrils
travel south over the ridge of her rouged upper-lip,
chillingly seeping into this woman's mouth—


she trips.

I do not move the maple branch strewn across the way or call
this woman's name. I merely watch as the stranger lolls
over, eroding appendages clenching for something.
Expansive jaws agape, this woman is quiet—


he feasts.

Dangling Feet

Strung above the unsteady coast, the crepe-paper clouds
ripple with a pull of thread, resembling waves...
we drift away in our clothespin bodies.

Earth is lost beneath us and we peer only skyward,
not wanting to say, "We might regret this."

The comfort lies only upon our chiffon ship
and the lasting bond laced between our tender fingers.