go ahead & waste
another sheet of
paper no one is
looking so you
might as well
scribble what you
need to scribble
just get it down
& out & on the
page & just look
at it there alive
on the page
dying in the light
but writhing with
this new found
freedom & if you
turn over the
page it stills
to silence like
a bird in a draped
cage but flip it
over again &
it starts mewing
& mewling & how
can you ignore it
so read it again
before you stick
it in a drawer
to smother in
slow decay until
you discover it
covered in loose
change & rubber
bands & dead
batteries &
whatever else you
want to forget
& give it a whisp
of breath before
realizing those
bastards were right
about distance
& time & rage
2023-01-03
Q: when
is the way
not the way
A: a path untrod
Q: is a hand
unopened
a hand
A: unfold & see
Q: what price silence
A: ear. tongue, split hair
Q: how to heal
a brokenness
A: all is
as meant
to be
Q: whither joy
A: the bee knows
what the ant
forgets
Q: is this all
A: seek not
but find
on the way
Q: what is the way
A: a path untrod
2023-01-02
omega said alpha
finally crossed the
line so now we can
all go home except
poor uroboros
2023-01-01
dear robert carpenter
we appreciate your
letter & especially
the fact you took
time to write about
the paucity of cats
on lunar mission nine
however we are a
household products
company with no say
in what nasa is up to
but our pet food division
will reach out soon
about an exciting
marketing opportunity
& also please find
enclosed several specially
selected coupons
sincerely bigfarmco
2022-12-31
’twas twilight on the inner rim
& in orbit husks did glow,
those rusting hulks aflame again
that died so long ago
when Major Thorne set out to seal
the locks against the Kl’o
but failed to ram the hammer home
& bargained this shit deal
where Kl’o can come & Kl’o can go
as pretty as they please
through the gates of hyperspace
while we must bend the knee—
but now m’boys you see the sign,
writ in the stratosphere:
the reclamation has begun—
let’s teach the K’lo to fear
2022-12-30
there are no
heroes in outer
space just dead
spacers & survivors
of void wars
who tell tales
best left untold
m’boy unless you’re
buying a round
of hurakkan wine
in which case
grab a seat
2022-12-29
my brother ate spaghetti
right out of the can,
shoveled cold noodles
& fat-laced meatballs
into his maw, red
sauce flinging down
the aisles, the grocer
stomping & yelling &
my mother shrugging
as if to say what do
you expect when you
stock can openers
within reach of a ten
year old with a hankering
that must be obeyed
more than a mother
working the late shift
after her no good
husband ran off
with that bitch jolene?
