PLAY THE MOOD FOR A LONG TIME

Happy birthday!

we can't get enough

play kick the can

stick ball

beat down the tiny paper horse strung from that old cherry tree.

Remember when we sat in those swings?

when you said you loved me?

I wouldn't do it either.

I wouldn't leave this old thick life

shredded with a tin grater

for an abandoned house.

hey, no hard feelings.

and...Happy Birthday. Seriously.

I LOOK TO THE EAST

raining soaking wet

the soles of my shoes

feet

inner being.

are wet.

i want to jerk off

and cry

and punch

you.

which means me.

all those starched pieces of paper, little fortunes put in cookies- you will be successful.

you are in ruins.

which means me.

step outside where the flatulent air puffs right back on your face.

you're awake, get over it.

HOW DARE YOU keep beating in my chest,
mocking me.

steady.
continuous.
it's not enough!

how DARE you.

JUSTICE

Born of blood and restless sound
small terrible thing,
you'll find this pulse
of electric living.

across the red blanket
of your eyes shut tight against light,
making wishes
and pulling on feathery petals
but only fools make promises.

LOTTE

now that i know you put your head down every night to sleep
and that i am not allowed to like you-

i will admit it to no one.

maybe it can just be a friendship. so delicate they rise and fall.
and when they crash they make no sound, just turn into ash.

i looked at you out of the corner of my eye all day yesterday.
thought about what it would feel like if this were a date. if.
ican'tican'tican't.
i put the cut glass crystal we found
in the pocket of a child's jacket
next to the window

i think it sends out psychadelic rays.
i think they've got the best of me.

so far i've i smashed my knee three times in the same place.
it's so funny- to see her everyday. make a little game out of hiding my face:
blank expression/pretending not to notice/feign surprise.

you know the girl.
sits behind formica tables in those chinese diners that sell breakfast for 3.95?
drinks their coffee because it's cheap. vindicates her artist soul.
i think it tastes like vinegar.

UNWILD DOG

With his leathery black nose low to the ground, Reggie searches for purpose in these woods.
dusk hits and the clouds part above the Arbutus and Pine, their lacy streaks caught in the tops.
above, the moon waxing half full, is bright enough to cast shadows.
Reggie looks, alert, beady eyes trawl to the skies, but all cells in his blood cast long ago their inherent desire to pay homage.
somewhere,
a paw,
a sliver of moon reflected, a
slight shift in the wind.
Reggie lets a low bark and turns from the sound, running toward a faint whistle. the wild no longer his brethren.