i.

a river.  a sister born without eyes.  a sponge that is not your mother’s mouth.  

commonplace is a toddler’s map.  memory an unremarkable trauma.

I sign to sister how there’s no hot water in the house & count father’s burn money
where you can see it.      

ii.

the son most likely to catch a program on flamingos
thinks of himself on one leg  
and of a land
covered
in chairs.

iii.

a man is standing on a kitchen table gripping a broom.

his inbox will fill for three days
before the dogs
are his.

iv.

memory does not serve the woman
all out
of labor.