images

shaking out a white sheet, a man
standing in an almost empty room
walls eggshell or damask blue
a hand held out an empty robin's egg
cracked
turn this on a dime
the clock spinning on the bureau
no one is looking, get it, no one is looking
black birds rise on the left and right
cannons exploding into song
flittering bits of ash and motherboard
wings
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lift the ladle honey falling in a thin line
bringing windowpanes of sun down in a spiral prism
toast and butter
reach into the corpse and pull out the string
tap the fortune cookie on the rim
magnetic poetry from the fridge picked off
pasted onto a board with a face
coffee or tea
slender fingers of a woman
touch the pot, knowing it is hot
springing up from the ground like needles
punching through the cloth
daisies and arrowroot
sprinkle of cinnamon sparkle of light
glimmering from the lid honey
stuck to the jar
stuck to the cupboard
licking the knife when no one can see
stuck in the car-board
head on a kite, pulling the timid into the wind
to see me fly, sinking into bubbles at night
candles surrounding
crumbs on the counter
children wipe honey from the rim when no one
can see
mother in the bath, father on the train,
hedge still taller than we were then
free to cry when he got the bigger half
map on a wall now
i am at its feet
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holding both ends of the puppet string
holding both sides, rope for the swing
holding the line, hand left and right
going underwater
using the rings, rolling forward
a gymnast rolling up the cord
tied at the feet, with my own hands
a knot, a twist, a suture and conceit
a paintbrush in her hair
undone by you outdone by
invisible sun, blinding gun
stop the reason
shield my eyes
blanks hits and mistresses
cut through with rope from a swing
words slicing bread, renewing desire
her back you remember
you remember the skin of her back
rising into tomorrow
bringing you to your knees
get back up
we know how to get back onto our feet
we all do it so well
even after stumbling through a doorway
hitting our heads on the sign on the wall
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pull at the skin on your lip
lower lip
sigh and wonder what is in the mail
so much junk
fight the fat
fat letter from the lawyer
time to diet
pass on the rolls and the pastry
sit around and twirl your hair
stare at the phone
refuse to call
for pizza
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round circles of blue paint, sappho
midnight and gogh, with a fist
punch stamp stars
kick at the canvas, tear at the hole
make a mousetrap
a hatch, an escape
into the darkness through the tunnel
of light
frayed like shoelaces and shaking
like bones, pulling out the threads
stained through
your attic, terrace, and lucy wardrobe
part the tapestry
use a needle to etch your name
oils and acrylics insane
asylum from the canned tuna, canned quotations
come to dinner with sapphire blue in
your hair, charcoal black on your cheek
kiss me when the room is spinning
when the lipstick mark is mete
i will bleed you
street to street, but no one will know
shhhh! that it was me
too late for then, for now, or apology
know i still the way to
keep a secret when i am speaking and
spilling the news like turpentine
on an old dried painting
revealing truth beneath
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hate me so dearly, i love how he hates me
wants to be haughty and nearly died loving me
hate me with that mean butter knife
the motorcycle broad
hate me with the tongue in cheek
pointed thus, with a nod
so naughty poisoned and manipulate this snake
i love how he hates me, surpassing my fame
indignity rises like a fanned gasoline flame
laugh mock and merc me
tertiary game
stick me like a voodoo doll
blame blame blame
hate me so dearly, i love how he hates me
wants to be haughty and nearly died loving me
hate me! i say! with that mean butter knife
take me, or try, as i pin your wrists to the door
for all that time
spated energy and crime
i learned something from you
and yet you still cannot write
it will be a war between butter knives
a gang of kryptonite punks and thieves
earrings in their brow
colors on their sleeves
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blowjob michelle needs another ode in her honor, but i'm uninspired (can't you tell) and tired tonight. goodnight. ahhhh...can't sleep. roommate just came home and started laughing, joking around with me. i didn't know it was 2:30! i slept a lot during the day today...for many hours so i'm a nightowl tonight. really uninspired though. no drugs of course, maybe that's why. just kidding. when i'm inspired, i don't need anything to write well. it just flows. this hasn't been flowing very well except the first one came easily. i could see it.
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i know what it is to fall
to be crushed like an autumn leaf
love to reason, or need a reason to love
silly, silly, me
but love you zipped unzipped with without
don't have to know why
don't have to know right from wrong or good from bad
to make me cry to punish me was wrong
yet still i can love and lust
thinking of...
and moving on
they will know where to find me
if rending saves me
if changes bring new meaning
hope springs eternal
mortality gives me ground