Daddy was a boy scout
Moss grew on his skin
He was green
And I didn’t know him then
He was eating out of Frisbees
Building fires with his friends
He was young
He was not my daddy then

Soon he was an eagle scout
He grew up way too fast
Flew away
To desert sun
Hard at work
In Cimarron

Daddy was a park ranger
Before he met my mom
Hiking in his short shorts
All over Yellowstone

Daddy was a husband
Honeymoons and holding hands
And fighting over money
Build the house
Mow the lawn
Take the kids to soccer

Daddy was a doctor
Sorting pills and giving shots
And taking care of Mom
Daddy was a nurse
Wiping brows
And blowing noses
Sitting up all night

Then
Daddy was a grave digger
One cloudy day in May
At St. Paul’s
He hurt his shoulder
Playing in the dirt
At St. Paul’s
He hurt his shoulder
Putting Mom back in the earth

Is that I like your hats
They gave you away
I knew how you made your money
Before you opened your mouth
Was it because
We were in bed?
Where do you keep your stash?
Was it because
You’re an honest man?
You’d be the only one I’ve ever met
An honest man
With laundered cash
2. Is how do we act at work?
Not a word
For three months
Now not words are hard for us
3. Is a magic number
4. Is your middle name
You didn’t think I noticed
But I did
James
The same as his
Are you going to do what he did?
Or will everyday be Christmas?
5. Is that I’m the big spoon
And I like holding you
I’m the big spoon
And the drawer is all askew
I wish I was the man
With big strong arms
I wish you were the lady
With all her feminine charms
Because backwards is what we are
What we are
6. Is that I’m on eggshells
Pins and needles
Hot coals
And I’m barefoot
Getting burnt
And stabbed
And I’m naked
Getting kissed
And ******
And I’m nervous
Feeling guilty
7. Is the sweat beading on your chin
Pooling in
The spaces and
The valleys
Of your neck
You are making me a wreck
I don’t sleep
And I don’t eat
I don’t do anything
But you
Anymore
You’ve gotten under my skin
And I’m sweating you
I’m a fool
8. And I’m
In love
With you
9. But I’m done with you
Despite your middle name
You aren’t the same
10. I can’t be your doll
I’ve been James' for so long

The coyotes are loud tonight
And Bob Dylan’s burning bright
In the backs of my eyes tonight
And Mama, you been on my mind tonight
But a boy
Even more so
Who hums the blues
In bed with his girl
It is forceful
How he breaks into my mind
When I’m alone
And cold at night
And the coyotes starve so loud tonight
Calling for their mama
The moon
And right on cue
I hear you singing the blues
Next to me in bed
And the computer glows
Along with us
Howling Dylan at the moon
Dying in my footsteps
How I loved those vibrant blues
Lying togetherseparate
In your room
That was so many tonights ago
The coyotes are so proud outside my window
I wonder what they’ve killed
And I hope you’re humming Dylan
Far away
I am thinking of you still

Molasses is
The most red
The most gold
The most vibrant
Least cold
Fall of my life
And it’s a new ****
Maybe he wears a trucker hat
Or maybe he wears bibs
Maybe he’ll be some dark horse
New candidate
I don’t know yet
He could be one of these
Over mountain men
Filtering through the woods
Appearing in the hills
Ghosts of Hatfields past
Fur on their faces
Instead of skin
Strong and sturdy
Growing up from the ground
Like the cane we’re cutting
Down
And it ain’t about money
Out here in God’s country
We’re just willing and
Able
Enjoying the rich soil
And machetes
Carving calluses
While the sugar’s pressing
Staining, straining
Green and sweet
Skimming, boiling, browning
Finally draining
Into glistening mason jars
The day is going dark
Sail away ladies
Sail away
And say darling say
Playing banjo
In a moonshine-induced
Hallucination
Till all the bread is gone
The molasses gets carted off
And now it’s full dark
The spooks come out
All the wicked witches
Spitting hairballs
At their victims
That thing making noise
Moving in the bushes
Might be Matt Kinneman
Tells me I’m a good woman
I’m a human wall
And my pigtails make good handholds
When someone needs to reach his knife
The mountains grow
Apart at night
And the hollers pull us in
Molasses tastes like being
Home again