exhale preceded laughter
   we discussed the lack of preparedness
        jokes were made
granite examined; partially carved
      actions planned
      outcomes predicted

our softest parts
hurt the most, but
are the most resilient

        ...shortlisted title- jokes on genitalia

I had a very vivid dream
      woke up with the need to remember
I wrote it out using a Sharpie on brown construction paper
I know the dream was beautiful and welcoming
I also know that Sharpie is better suited for writing in capital letters
      that is really all I remember about that dream

fills to empty to
fill my room

have another?

A horse's eye is not all that dissimilar
   to that of a squirrel's
Not the top of the food chain
   not the bottom
Large and dark- wide open
   designed to take it all in

    An evolving depth of acceptance comfort fear anger aggression and retreat
    reflection

Garbage at the curb
wrapped plastic and mixed treasure
what was lost in the move- the immediacy
the urgent disregard of change
neighbors look so good mowing the lawn

At one point even
beige was an innovation

On the rails
flatter than the globe
fewer rats burrowing in the rocks

the third rail doesn't shock as strong

Pests- unknowables, question marks-
reverberations and scrapings echo
uncomfortably into the well of my drink

A weighty foundation in glass
fortified in process
returned in measure and esteem-
definitional product-
compulsory torture captured in static
kiln of expectation

The hardening cranes don't love unplanned winds

missed it by moments
crumbles and wheat
old refineries unneeded
still provide heat

enough togetherness or enough insulation to comfort foreign assumption

broad-point directed violence disguised
the community felt trickle in schoolyards built through funny places
where the funny can be seen through a bent shape of laughter
casting shimmering projections of the new humor to be
questioned from existence

thoughts that do more than calm
more roots have grown through the trail
pushing past the height of stacked desire
allowing only the lingering discomfort of unrest

Laugh- consequences of self-propagated misrepresentations
Slow growing desiccation – underappreciated aegis of interconnected
     systems
All infinities filled with infinities of their own
A great push to galvanize an unnecessary molder
autodecomposition

breath near the curvature-
consequential details blur under the horizon
distant and thin
matters of scale- numericals; quantifiable projected outcomes
the inhale feels the same, but always gives off more gas

we all want breakes and bridges -

The inspired percussive harmonies of a cockroach **** refract outward from my kitchen with perfect time to recongeal and land in precise density on my sleepless twitch...

exhausted elastic on the concrete- that old weave, a tumbleweed bouncing beautifly in the gerrymandered chorus of political will...

Poems about love are not in my repertoire-
I've got other forms of simple.

Always the same time, by some metric of measure
Certain days start anew, most just reopen
A dream of words- relics of intention
In time the wind stops breathing and a nothing buys the temptation

A nameless day- inoffensive
plus another, left of a aimless center, amid spare self-defined
    potential
The only road forward-
mind in moves- lodged, hands on the table
Tangible feeling - tangible touch
Explore or affected refocus, ignore the real need - another selfish
      neighbor- cheap paint peals
miss those invitations- lost in the blinds. waking in mornings, waking in afternoons- time passed, time waiting in nothing moving
Tangible feeling tangible touch - the only road forward
the only road forward
Always the same time, by some metric of measure
Certain days start anew, most just reopen
A dream of words- relics of intention
In time the wind stops breathing and a nothing buys the temptation
Tangible feeling- tangible touch