Mama,
the weather outside
speaks hunger.

The air whispers
in chipped syllables,
cradling my bloated stomach,
muffling the laughter
emerging from K street.

Pine trees, brittled
by their barren limbs,
hum to me their
creaking lullabies.

I've seen the sun,
cheeks fat with food,
spit golden scraps
I was never
entitled to.

Perhaps the air
can carry me
through the winter.
Perhaps then
I can finally
dream of feasts.

Stilled by a mid-summer chill,
and soaked by pelting rain,
the starlings watch
in somber silence.

A cautious wind
shoulders dry elm leaves,
as clunking boots
crack through open air.

Dark, iridescent
wings flitter, bent upwards
while a father whispers
a silent prayer.

Soldiers carve
through narrow streets,
as power lines hiss
with growing malice.

You’re one of the good ones.
You never make a show.
But the preacher swore
they’re coming for us,
so you can guess where my ballot would go.

You’re one of the good ones.
You’re not sassy or loud.
But honestly, why call it marriage?
Your love: unnatural; your vows: untrue.
Hey, at least I voted. You should be proud.

You’re one of the good ones.
You’re not flaming at the heels.
There’s plenty of work
in the city, or out of state
But have you thought about how I feel?

You’re one of the good ones.
There’s no need to gripe.
Don’t you see, despite perception,
we are all shrouded tight
in the tarnished stars and tattered stripes.

The bartender says “It’s time to go”
“Because the moon has clamored high
And the sun was banished low.”

They were only speaking to me
I raised my glass, took a swig
belch, “i’m not even empty.”

They grab and toss it in a bin
The crash of glass, the waste of gin
Pollutes the air and that is when

They spoke. It was stern it was cold
“Get out right now! Before I leave
Your chest all gaped. Your chest all holed.”

“I’m a patron,yet you’ve decided
To push me out into the darkness
Lonesome and unguided”

“There are other bars out there,”
“No need to bother us, They said
I bit my tongue so as not to swear.

I made a choice, a simple choice
To sit and stay at the counter.
I cleared my throat and raised my voice:
“Do what you must. Let it occur,
But understand this, we will not be deterred.”

And if you choose to stay,
Mark my words:
"I AM LOVE; and my love will not stray."
My breath is like the wind; my lips are the sky.
Be careful where the words of lighting strikes,
Love will not die.

Pulls a cigarette and lights it up
“They are gonna **** you those sticks”
Yeah well tonight I don’t care
That’s what I’m here to do
Inhale it up and let it out
Close your eyes and start the count
Then you drop the gun
Cry tear after tear
God gave you life and you were going
To give it all back.
This isn’t the end but maybe soon
You realize you are only here for her.

Fog lays like a pale figure in an uncomfortable chair
languishing
and I lay too
with a full heart
under a duvet
yet awake in the dark
as the electric fan ticks away in the corner
and on the street there is no one
not delinquent teenagers
not stupefied drunks
not star-crossed lovers in the cold

just the vapor in the air
too lukewarm to form hoarfrost
too cool to disperse

the streetlights are refracted into orbs of blue light
hanging with a soft buzz
over wet asphalt,
beacons for no one,
no thing.