april 1st, 2010

Here are two new poems.  The second one is a cut-up I wrote using the words of a friend, Caitlin Cooke.  Cheers.

studying bare walls

His shrinking humiliation blistered in the sun.

You raise your nose at him

but I've seen you,

I've seen you digging through the dumpsters,

hissing at spectators as they laugh at your misfortune.

Lean in close and listen to the clicking

of the kitchen clock.  Maddening isn't it?

All of your mental calculations are letting you

down, aren't they?

These are nights of love and laughter

followed by days of unapologetic

loneliness.

You stare at the dirty wine glasses

filling your sink as if you're the only one

who feels empty on a daily basis.

maybe her body followed

Breaking the surface of the pomegranate

felt like penetrating human skin.

The purple blood trickled down my fingers

and splashed onto the meat of my bare foot.

I saw it falling towards the ground

and even though there was ample time to react

I was unable to pull away.

I felt knuckle deep in fresh jello

or 15 minutes into a hot shower

on a winter day.

I knew I had to let go

but my body refused.