Jimmy Carter looked green
as he delivered his last state
of the union. Of course, everyone
did on the old Magnavox for ten
Smart, Very Smart
Walk-In Emergencies Welcome
I live in minefields, study dioramas
of disaster, pose in crime scenes. I pay
attention. Last night, I overheard a woman
A Longing for Those Who Lament
Each word is a fly foregrounding the gap of its silence.
I scan for microscales something
Every Sentient Being – after Frannie Lindsay
Every Sentient Being
after Frannie Lindsay
The carcasses have been piling up
All fall—atrophied chipmunk splayed under our kitchen island,
Crowded Silence, Shaman in the Library, Three Pounds of Flax
SHAMAN IN THE LIBRARY
Naked except for a loin cloth,
ritual scars, and streaks of red clay
he attends the staff meeting.
Bowl haircut, back straight, face impassive.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Poses His Mother for a Portrait; Tom O’Malley, Who Should Have Taken the Pledge; My Brother and I Conduct His Antique Car Business in the Visiting Room of Maximum Security
Let the tea cup
hold your attention.