her head is thrown back in laughter
and the moment stops
i have to look at her,
at the scene,
because we are placed in just such a way
that it could be painted
in strokes that destroy the secret
not of the words,
but the showing of our teeth
i have to look at her,
at the scene,
from the corner of the room in order
to see it
hovering between us
her laughter and mine meeting in the air
to blend, to dissolve
a new color, a secret
Jun 7, 2019
Jun 7, 2019 at 10:52 AM UTC
a palm up and open
to the sky
the glass lip
of a wicked bottle
wheels that turn
toward spring
small things, small things
such small things
Apr 8, 2018
Apr 8, 2018 at 8:39 PM UTC
when autumn laid her first frost down
she did it early in the mornings
fields of newsprint
breaking stories
i could warm two pale hands
right there
right where the wires cross
how nice
i could still know
who was the wall
and who was the ivy
Apr 8, 2018
Apr 8, 2018 at 8:26 PM UTC
commune, o lovers!
follow the stars!
your manna is not yet redeemed!
stand guard, lovers!
your sweet contraband
sets tired souls to envy!
Jan 3, 2018
Jan 3, 2018 at 8:56 PM UTC
one for each deep voice
one for every remark, snide, in passing
one for each neck craned, speaking down
the furnace is fed.
one for each space taken up
one for every conversation commandeered
one for each "sure about that?"
"yes."
a round in the chamber
one for each man unaccustomed
to solid-footed women
armed with nothing less than
surety.
Dec 24, 2017
Dec 24, 2017 at 5:48 PM UTC
born barefoot
lightning smack midsummer
midday
thunder clapped from
some miles away
grey eyed child
all the better to
fill with color
Nov 25, 2017
Nov 25, 2017 at 11:17 PM UTC
no one's ever called me anything like queen
sat at a table for many
snipping cannabis leaves
shedding something else too
and the blood drained
from my face
the trees drained
sound
down to us,
the underbrush,
the creatures trailside
when the lacquer wore off
we started shedding something else
something so transparent
must be new,
looked through,
must stand to be clouded
Nov 13, 2017
Nov 13, 2017 at 10:17 AM UTC
when the sun rises
i try to blink it off me
your new love,
my new love
and all the old ones too
if i want to live the right way
i can't lie the light away
Oct 10, 2017
Oct 10, 2017 at 1:07 PM UTC
a color i've never seen before
talks to me about my
problems with men
two steps ahead of me
so i let him lead
let him tell me everything i know
let him face me with a truth
stark as a steeple
leftover from days when believers
flocked in droves to high places
and i thought
maybe we can only be worth
what we're willing to give away
maybe our deaths and our debts
lie latent
until the final tally
maybe i'll always have
problems with men
and no matter what i do
they'll never have anything
to do with Jesus
a color i've never seen before
talks to me about how
i'm the problem
and i laugh
and i try
again
Oct 9, 2017
Oct 9, 2017 at 7:03 PM UTC
a surprise packed
into a pack of royals
held knightly between two long fingers,
funny how we both picked up the habit
when the bottom dropped out.
but he's always been balanced
even, even
used to find rhythms
tapped nightly into the back of my held hand
i still feel the pulse
like it could still be springtime
like he might still smile at the thought
of me and God in the same room
like the way he hears things
in his head
i wonder if my voice
was one of them
Sep 6, 2017
Sep 6, 2017 at 11:08 PM UTC