We ran out of pencils
which didn't bother us much
'till we discovered that
we ran out of words and letters
as well and

in the lack of words
there was nothing to ration
sheer terror and confusion
and those leaked out of storage
foaming, flooding, roaring
draining all other emotions and

thus the hunger settled in
oozing through the cracks
clinging to the walls
suckling like an orphaned boy
until, when nothing's left
consumed itself to null and

we were left with the absence
who's already small amounts
swelled, and inflated
filling our entire volume
entrapping the echos of memory
then, naturally,
diffused to the outside and

we were left
deprived of selves
only the void within preventing us
from bursting towards the void outside
we float
in no distinct direction
and on occasion bump
into each other's shell
a tap deprived of sound
unable to disturb
eternal peace

Tread lightly
as not to trample
the stalks of budding dreams
Let them sprout
in the gap between the toes
watch them sway
in the breeze caused
by the friction of your lifting foot
extended towards their counterparts
an endless step away

Choose carefully
with your sparse and
widening  steps
which flagstone  cracked with age
will  resonate  through
you
its  painful
song of  burden
its lifting  song
of  joy

Float  than
gently
push  the  air
repeal   gravity
with    jets    fueled
by     yourself
     that ' s      i  t
                y  o  u  
                       f    l    y

For you, I'll make a nest
on top of the church spire
and fashion it
from plastic straw
and dangling colored wires
I'll cushion it with cold receipts
and pocket lint
and party flyers
and leave each morning
an early bird
to pluck stale crumbs
and rancid meat
from drifter's blackened feet
before even the buses
took to the street

You will feel at home

I will feel concrete

Once in a while
I move through you
spreading my arms
as though they were wings
hoping your sweet scent
will carry me far, far away

You are the one
un-remembered
that sweeps through me like a storm
a gust leaving scorch marks
on the cusp of sense and in-sense
Until you stop
on the tip of my tongue
a shape made of mists
waiting to be exhaled
and dissolve into thin air

And as you die down
I die out
My arms drop off
like spiraling autumn leaves
and the chill of sobriety grabs hold
condemning me
to life

Paint for me , in oil,  on canvas
as I  portray
a lush meadow
a curving stalk
and at its top, refracting light
a dew drop
a rainbow of all colors

Sketch for me, with charcoal, on paper
as I detail
the corners of skyscrapers
shadowing long faces
and short names
distant relatives, familiar strangers
emptiness
as a landmark

Color for me, in water, on water
as I describe
stretched all the way
to the horizon
the scents of a clear night
and tear drops
of pure moonlight
like tadpoles in a puddle
like whales in outer space

Each one I'll take
and balance on all principle axes
bredth
height
depth
I'll sit at the origin
and 'till the end of time
observe

Misery came to my deathbed today
changing the sheets by routine
with emphatic blue eyes
she said
"get on by"
and stroke my hair gently
while emptying the bin

Through my plastic esophagus
I gargled a moan
to remind her the ***** is full
But I wanted to shout at her
"leave me alone!"
as her sight only made me recall

who I was years before
what is left of me now
and what future above my head hover
Full of putrid decay
loss of bladder control
with an Iron lung as a lover

I gritted my teeth and I broke
my best smile
which came out as an overtaxed grin
If I make her rejoice
then miss Misery might
unplug that infernal machine

The crowd squeezes me
back into non-existence
And the world, confines
the crowd
And the void pressures
the world into a sphere
And the universe prevents
the void  from spreading
wild and unchecked.
Ergo,
the universe is squeezing me
back into non-existence.

Like a ******* child
who’s diligent compression
might revert the flow of time
and compensate for
some ancient rash decision

And I
with all my puny might
push myself away from
the moment of conception
let out a mute defying roar
through gritted teeth
through arched back
and through a dripping brow
through trembling
and nausea
and bundles of strained muscles
that resonate
with ever shrinking frequency
until they reach
a breaking point
and crumple to a singularity

It is a battle lost each day
since universes, as they come
are infinite
and I infinitesimal
assigned a finite stay