The Ladder
i shouldn’t
demand
anything
from him
&
trade
a glass of
water
for some
salt
&
craggy:
a collection
of some
long stray
hairs down
my face
&
tired of
my own
company
also means
a deficit;
the insistent
seagulls
move in
&
hear myself
ask myself
“not the same
people—
were we?”
so now
the climb
must happen
again:
Field Guide
yes i go
backwards
&
the shadow of i
doesn’t want
to go outside
&
the equipoise:
i (verb)
(article) (descriptor)
(body part(s))
or when
i see a father
hug his son:
seeing after not
seeing
in blood
&
i say “it’s just
a turn”
and it stops
raining
the kind of rain
that inspires
me to say, “good
morning”
to a stranger:
Three-of-a-Kind
into
myself
completely:
wonder
if reset is
possible
&
so i
ies
i: the
man-
slaughter
of
the core
&
as
paired i
must
keep still:
The Erratic Field
an in-
sistence:
told
to turn
up
the corners
of
my mouth
&
black-eyed
susans
aren’t
sunflowers
nor
cliché:
more
truth
in hyphens
in
emphases:
please
let them
be
&
dyads
every-
where
and un-
aware
&
one
notch
under
full-on
the max
and the
in-
verse
too i
refuse
to go:
The Soundtrack
as Propaganda
the word
-of-the-day
was rain
yet in
hindsight
it should
have been
threaten
&
the thumb
puppet:
when
the pushed
button
releases
the fallen-
apart
animal
connected
by strings
goes rigid
&
near the end
he made
half-man
half-pigdog
sounds
at a kitchen
window:
at extras:
Mouths
kick-in
my defenses
so i don’t
hear
the good
explanation
&
he works
hard: all
the internal
orbiting:
but what
are his
beliefs?
&
you argued
with
the sandwich:
sat down
to eat: