Wear frown, and be still,
Get out fast, no word for her,
See, the moon is dark!

I never said I loved you, John.
But I did.
I never said I saw you, John
but I did.
I never said I heard you, John.
but I listened.
For all the good it did to me.

Grass knee high around the house
and the paint is coming off
a snake slithers after a mouse
on the porch I hear a cough

An old man sits there
rocking forth and back
one arm missing from his chair
next to him, magazines stacked

His eyes are dark and sunken
he is as skinny as a rail
at first I thought him drunken
but his words, clear as a bell

Sonny what you doing here?
as he spied the Wendy’s sack
haven’t seen anyone in a year
wasn’t sure they was coming back

I sat down and swatted flies
and took a drink of tea
I offered him my fries
and he ate them with glee

I told him I was cruising land
to build a new highway
I asked him who he was
ignored is what he say

By the kids and the state
no one comes around
alone since the death of his mate
the birds his only sound

I walked to the truck to get a beer
when I turned around
there was no one near
no house and no man, just an earthen mound

The mouse ran by as my mouth hung
the snake still close behind
a lonely bird song sung
I wonder if I lost my mind

The red clay mound
covered with straw of pine
Jameson Pounds
written on a fallen sign

Holy rot. I cover the street.
Breaking, breaking.
Loose glass, filling with blood.
Teeth on the pavement.
Teeth in the sky.
I’m sick of these smiles.
Blood flowing laughter.
The body turned inward.
Crossing a river.
What connects me to you?
The hunger. The horror.
The wretched maw of time.