I carry a grief few know, fewer hear—the language of my body and its foreign sounds:spontaneous, diagnostic for no explanation. It signifies nounsand verbs external to my state imposingsyntax to my frame. My compositionis a morpheme unable to stand alone. One March, I inched across my university’s white sidewalks to teach the act of writing... Continue Reading →
The Sky Above My Bed
The sky above my bedis nine feet high and in moments of wonder,I stand with my feet cratered on the bedand I can palm the plastered clouds, the mini T-rex. Is thiswhat dreams are made of? For nine weeks, I have laid here in hours of three, in hopes that these hours might seal what my spine’s... Continue Reading →
Prudence Angel Worm
1) How simple life might beas a sunflower, degree of rotationprogramedfrom birth, no questionwhat to do. On “bring a prettycaterpillar to school”day, I found myselfwith something uglythat the teacher called “A prudenceangel worm” and promptly,dangerously, I threw the jarfrom the nearest window.2) I’ve learnedto eschew ornament, to followfunction—if only till timeto dust the day’s taskfrom... Continue Reading →
Low-Tech Signage
about this piece Low-Tech Signage2023 See More in Art...
The First Day I Saw Freedom Dance
It was a sunny day in June,the first day freedom danced,licking a stick of Vanilla ice cream.She was beautiful like the moon,tall like a giraffegazing through a rooftop,a half-shirt skirting her breastslike the cock of a bottle;a pair of black pantsthrowing her butt out into the air;two spindling feetmounted on a skateboard;two rings on her... Continue Reading →
The Journey
I set outbelieving I was going to land in Heaven,that I would pluck plums from the sky.Here, the roses have withered,oranges rotted;the ground is hard, uncultivable,earth’s crust shattered soil,split into dry slabs from the sun’s anger.For many days there was no rainand the air was dry and hurting,sparking slices into peppery noses,into troubled waters.My sister... Continue Reading →
Worth a Million
I was sitting on the fielddrinking tea on a low stoolwhich I bought at the flea marketthe other day I went round the cityvisiting fellow hungry artistswho threw their workshops openfor all to see and wonder.The flea market was on my way,and I digressed since it was sunriseI saw this ancient, grey stoolwith legs like... Continue Reading →
Long Island Sound
fluke fishhook seteleven fishfell off the bone from a fireless ovenin a tiny bungalow by the seaafter hours on small craftof run & hide & play pirate Grandfather & step grandmother hand sanitizer breathserved up flatfish love & butter at dusk with a mask of an ocean in the backgroundin the salted dark Read More in Poetry
Fatherland
Out of nothingexcept the night light andinterrupted dreamshis handsmade shadow butterfliesand rabbitsa prancing horseand a fast turtlewho laughed all the wayto the finish linehe turned the fable upsidedown, he turned our livesinside outabsent in the daybursting home at nightwe were sleepy eyed andgrowing halfway drunkon his bourbon helloand his laughwe abandoned slumberfor the midnighttales told... Continue Reading →
Emergency Room Epiphany
morphine dazedbone crushed bleedingmy femur sticks out of my flesha withered trunkof a treewill someday grow backas a calcified lumpof brokenthings. in the emergency room,a nurse looks after every bitof shattered glass lodged inmy face—under the fluorescentbath of lightshe digs my skinplowing bitsandpiecesof painImma save... Continue Reading →
