Worn shoes -
friction burns on tired soles;
griddled pancake strides.

Scuffed leather -
peeling flakes of desiccated fruit
kiss frayed laces;
knotted serpent tongues.


Burning in Nevada;
a thousand miles from carpenter's tools,
a hundred steps from Vegas lines.

If a picture buys
Something like a thousand words,
Which of us is robbed
If I should, as a kindness,
Paint with so few syllables?

Smooth to my fingertip
stimulation head to toe;
slice and dice my heart
the blood puddles flow
red ripples in the drips,
bow down to the reaper
to burn in what you sow.
frying in the flaming pit
trapped in the undertow,
darkness is coming at us
-ready or not, here we go.

the windshield wiper kiss
broke my wings

slammed on a sidewalk
in the fall

on the ground like this
I fade to ash grey chalk

The old man's breath
tears russet leaves
from ragged books.