Humidity thick
A fallen leaf with curled sides
On the puddles edge

I went to the shooting range with my friend
We both grew up in families that valued guns
Hate it if you'd like
But it'll happen whether you want it to or not

After we punched holes through paper
We went to a local dive bar to have a beer

We call Yunegling "lager" in PA
You just ask for a lager
And out it comes
I've made this mistake of asking for "lager" in other states
The bartender looks at you like you just cut your tongue off
And put it next to your bill as a tip

My friend told me that he has a reoccurring dream
Where he's in a fox hole
And his rifle jams
And the enemy charges him and
Runs him through with a bayonet

"That's horrifying"
I tell him, putting my glass heavily on the bar top
"Nah, you get used to it"
He says, lightly lifting his glass to his lips
"It doesn't hurt, it just has that floaty feeling
Like 'this doesn't belong there' and then
I wake up clenching my fists"

I guess that one can get used to all things
Even being run through in the sacred
Space of dreams

Steam on my window
The alarm had been silenced
Rain showers clover

Dread can grow swiftly
Like weeds in a flower bed
Roots crawl through my gut

Who knew that the cure
For a mind stricken with grey
Was leaves on the breeze?

When you sit at the same desk every day
The walls tend to get a little closer.

When the walls get a little closer
The doorknob seems to stick a little more.

When the doorknob sticks a little more
The windows start disappearing.

When the windows start disappearing
The long fluorescent bulbs start to hum louder.

When the long fluorescent bulbs start to hum louder
The ceiling and floor start pressing in.

When they ceiling and floor start pressing in
You know it's time to get out.

When you get out
You may want to get back in.

When you think you want to get back in
Bury yourself in advance.

An empty playground
A multicolored hijab
Rainbow on asphalt
Rain drops wetting the sparse trees
Their leaves sounding like drum heads