so many laughs and
loves and glasses of watered-
down whiskey to share with
all of you

out of concern for your
general well-being, let's
boil all of the sludge and drivel
down to choice words (it'll
slide down your
arms more smoothly)

not what is wanted or
wanting, never allowed
whistles to get into the
dreams that keep you
up at night, down when-
ever they appear in your
periphery

only words, syllables (only
an overpass at night, halogen
halos on a concrete angel) can
carry the undeniable weight
of my thoughts

living and dying every day
in silence