oxbow
now the river flows like lava
until it breaks off to form a lake
takes a hundred thousand days
but its damn sure worth the wait
birth pains
i had a daughter
i named her hallelujah
i named her everything
i named her nothing at all
free write: 5 minutes
my heart is made of compartments
like the stomach of a cow
there is room
there are rooms
for you
and you
i am the sun on fire
and he is the moon
he is the ocean
you are a newborn
i pray with my entire self
to be made full
to be made
to make something new
a child of myself
i am trapped by another’s intentions
the great disaster
we lost our home in the fire
and then
it rained for 40 days
the earth shook
opened up
a mountain formed beneath us
we were lifted
gifted
they sifted through the rubble
to uncover our bones
and they were aching
disconnected
torn at the joints
and dripping marrow
in the annals of time
we
will be
omitted
(this was the one that the editor said came closest in my rejection letter)
i remember the LOGIC of cartoon physics and if i put my foot into my mouth, then i’m swallowing.
INSIDE OUT. UPSIDE DOWN.
fuck marching to the beat of a different drum. i am dancing to the strum of a yellow ukulele.
real life love song
your friend died the other day
it almost put me in my grave
cause there was absolutely nothing i could do
we’re too poor for good rum
so we made a liquor run
and came home with a plastic jug of admiral nelson’s
you make me wish that i were a man
so that i could ask your daddy for your hand,
take you to church and marry the fuck right out of you
the history of dirt
the seed of who i am
wasnt set in the sand
but deep in the red mud
of tennessee
i dream the smells
of the ocean
but wake to the pepper
of the back of tomato leaves
i can only grow
where i was planted
i cannot understand it
when you abandon your roots
and walk away
nuclear
our love
was never a violent burst
never fireworks
never a broken water line
it was simple and quiet
it had the bite
of a cornered dog
smother
she fed you crows meat, but you never knew.
she had her feet tucked up under you.
fight or flight takes over
its hard to breathe when youre sober
my bones dont miss his bones anymore
but my feet are aching for a race
its hard to stay in one place
(waiting to be abandoned)
g/loved
my bones are unwell they are telling a story
my mouth cannot tell
just yet
so i fret and fidget. count my digits
knowing there are ten, then forgetting again
