winter is a promise the ground can't help but thaw it's freezing in there matted leaves fallen branches naked pole obsolete bird feeders took flight during a september storm abandoning and forgetting who were they holding seed for not for silent paws in black and white stalking something backed up flat against a tree trunk breath held tense silent not the writhing handfuls scooped out wet from under dense crisscrossings of twigs fragile rotting not the spider's web lacing the pine tree sprig ...

petrified, the bridge snoozes dusty on the river's death bed. leaning like a sunbeam, sturdy as an airful of birthday confetti, it tapers like a siren passing brightly. an impish sapphire eye gleaming, little fluffy clouds kaleidoscope the landscape. my suitcase has been a wildseed strutting down toll roads as impatient as a hotel faucet's dripping. the interstate irritates like a hotly twisted comforter, and the ashes of Arizona summer freckle me as bravery collects like mercury rolling, and...

Sunny day, 1:03. In suit & SUV she cooed to her cell apologetically, "No, I can't leave the office until 5." Should have shouted, "SHE'S AT THE PARK," as I walked by.

you slid your hand around my heart, massaging the throbbing muscle with your tongue, my blood running down your arm and dripping from elbow to cold metal in a constant staccato. your eyes scanned my relaxed expression for a beat before you let your caress trail down past my stomach. at first just a sweet kiss, and then I felt it - your firm grip pulled until the bone split apart, exposing the red of me. turning away, I tried to hide the sudden sting of shame caught in my cheek. you were beaut...

inside, all those tiny pieces, gears, and springs work together. behind the hands, the face, the Indiglo, they're synchronized. keep good time. you must take care of each individual part. oil, grease, brush, dust. blow on it! the body is a time piece. tick, tick, tick do not over wind. if you breathe in deeply, your ribs open, lift. widen and rise. diaphragm sealed tight. lungs swell and wrap the heart, keep it in place. my heart is still in there, but what if your lungs and ribs weren't sync...

alan was in my dream. i wanted to save him, but he was far too mean. he ripped open his own head by the ear. i could hear them squeaking loudly at first, there was machinery in there, then his thoughts faded away to silence as he let the skin fuse back and smoothed down his sticky dark hair. first thing in the morning, to wash away the guilt, i built a wave of neon colors. it didn't help my mood at all so i sent an apology to him message in a bottle style: i wanted to save you, but you were t...

once your grip was firm, you pulled until the bone split apart, exposing the red of me. you slid your hand around my heart and I felt it then, at first just a sweet kiss, my blood running down your arm, dripping from elbow to cold metal. you were beautiful wearing red on your lips, massaging my throbbing muscle with your tongue, eyes scanning my relaxed expression for only a moment before I felt your caress trail down past my stomach. turning away, I tried to hide, the shining table under me ...

the brown stone church pointed to a children's book blue sky, an ant hill surrounded by tissue paper flowers and synthetic Easter grass. inside was a dusty cave, dimly lit by candles placed on an altar carved into the wall. drawings and letters littered this corner, and among them, the most genuine wish I can remember: in careful print, "Dear God, help me to stop peeing in my bed." only the votives should have known the secret of this child, but we were there.

just those first flutters instigated electric disaster. the oh-it's-so-good-to-see-yous and hug of the just barely friends became a tropical storm before the night was over. then, days after we had parted when I thought it'd all blown by, a stick in my spokes. shot from my seat, I was left with a scraped palm full of teeth and bloody drool. after faithfully chugging for over a year, I’m belly up next to what I thought was the safest track. I’ve been hissing your name in the night for weeks wh...