fashion forward

i have always been
fairly certain
that i was born in the wrong decade,
at least for certain things.

its not that i am unappreciative
of a button down plaid shirt
and a pair of black skinny jeans
or the soft woolen caps
worn even in the dead heat of august,
and i am certainly a fan of the
brightly colored sweatshirts, sneakers, scarves,

but what i wouldn't give
for a cravat and a cream colored vest
or a pair of beautifully tailored pants
and well made leather boots,
displayed beneath a fitted waistcoat
and a carefully chosen top hat.

not what's going on right now

(#8)

i stepped outside yesterday morning and there they were,
all over the yard like small elephants,
these dark birds, vultures, eating the snow.

i sent them to live in the apartment building on the other side of the mountain.

(#9)

we will paint this old church red and yellow
and call it "Hall of the Himalayan Good Deeds."

we will sell icicles and be open unreliably.

A request.

Yes only please.

Enough Bravado [a dance]

I clomp towards you
with one high-heeled shoe
and one bare foot
rise up
and fall into a pinwheel
I stomp and my wings arc out
I turn them inside out
then fly up on a high draft.

When I come back around, it's an easy tip-tap
a flip-flop hip-hop in the be-bop old style
but it gets me tangled up into a pretzel
and then another pretzel.

I lunge away, and then lunge deeper, and then deeper
and split in half, I try to stomp
and I open up to the sky and try to stomp again
I rock like a ship
and then jump overboard
This bit, here, is all about thighs.

My bare left heel is quaking
and I take note of it
and then I notice you noticing it
I snap at it to come to attention
I snap at it
I snap
it brings me down to its level, and I crumple.

When I soar back up, I WHACK WHACK WHACK
BANG BANG BANG BANG

[oh god what have i done
this is fucking stupid
snap i look like a fool
shiver what are they all going to think of me
alright, get it together
you can do this
just puff up
puff up]

Well hello there
check out my tricep
look at me strut
yes you!
me?
him.
Birds fly? Everything is worth pointing to.
Everything is bravado.
WAM!
WAM!
BAM!
THANK!
YOU!
MA'AM!
Beepa-tappa-tappa-tippa-bee-boppa-doppa toppa-deep-a-do-bop-dop
[and then I fly]
Come on, everybody!
Beepa-tappa-tappa-tippa-bee-boppa-doppa toppa-deep-a-do-bop-dop
Beepa-tappa-tappa-tippa-bee-boppa-doppa toppa-deep-a-do-bop-dop

Oh fuck it.
You guys don't know how to play.
Fuck this.
Fuck this stupid shoe.
Meema-mamma-mamma-mimma-mee-momma-momma-momma-meem-a-mo-mop-mop
[sharp inhale of breath]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

coeur de pirate

I roll with the train tracks,
and pause to catch strains of sun that shift and plummet on my skin.

The window shows me the day passing over the land,
and dreams come quickly here.

I am a dreamer,
it's what I do.

I stay inside and wonder at the romance of my mind...
learning the secrets of loneliness and depth of imagination.

I have the coeur de pirate... in my dreams.
The gentle chug of the train pillows my ship, and I am lost.

Her body is tattooed with maps of unknowable places and faces.
She engulfs me, rocks me steady.

The horizon before me stretches like golden blue canvas.
It hurts so good.

I am secretly afraid. Trembling at every breeze, every wave...
I don't know how to not steer the course...
I don't understand that.

I realize...
it isn't enough just to dream.
But it's a start.

Myth-man visits. Not a person, a preoccupation - excuse for mindlessness, lethargy, chemical hope, saltless foods and water, too hot. He tries. He’s in our town. He came via old connection. He has a new system now; he’s looking for comrades. He only finds cowards. Myth-man never looks you in the eye anymore. He silently calls, signing mouth-caws as if they make sound. See? The people of the town try and try to sleep. Like cats they curl, and still their troubles quake. Retract your ghosts, they plead, take back those things we learned to live without.

Matches

hellosuper, whatcha got to offer?
did you hear cupidneedspants?
neuraltimepiece is quite the thinker
umlikewhatever is indecisive
sumthinclever is kinda dumb
teddyrare makes me quiver
but quixotic_taco doesn't do it for me
and buriedbreathing might need prozac
actionchrist is too religious
teanotcoffee is too tired
myfacehashair needs to shave
davidjohnson55 has stalker status
gogadgetsgo is way too grabby
mclovinstein is in love with himself
all in all it's pretty boring
ok, cupid help a sister out

THREE

I keep losing him
the little boy
happy as a worm
poking a stick
in the warm December sand.
He's me and I'm him
but it's hard to leave behind
this room where I am
snowed in, biting my nails,
where my wife is hunched
over her computer.
Same hands, same
skin, same eyes.
What inheritance was his
that now is mine?
Grandma under blankets
on the back porch, listening
to Texas vs. Nebraska on the radio.
Grandpa splitting wood
with an axe, which, every time
he hoists it overhead
threatens to send him
toppling over onto his back.

Who Are These People and Why Do They Affect Me?

Years before Valentina Hassan
I just found out
Harry Nilsson was kicking the shit
out of Without You.
Can't liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
I wish I had extra
hands so I could hold
up extra lighters.

Ever since I read Tao Lin
I worry that people think I'm being
sarcastic when I'm
really being enthusiastic.

I don't know
I guess I'm
susceptible to pop.