JEWELRY

I’m kind of an overseer

slipping
under the davenport

all those who have been building a universe

you almost
got away with it

silos and a one room schoolhouse

a lifeguard's tower

I found the bronze claw that sometimes hangs from her throat

small piece of geography
known as the cleavage

an animal looks in through the broken window
backlit by heat lightning

it’s not like this will change anything

the empty flagpole banging in the wind

people tell you they’re sorry

in Oregon we don’t have this particular
kind of rabies outbreak

(they do yoga)

we're talking sky-red, food around a table

Ornamental Biblical

Hill country . . .

I like a nice quiet acre
where you can relax when you punish her


THE MIDWEST COLONIES


All that Baptism and slipperiness

it helps if you are double-jointed

maybe a little bi-polar

Then the chiggers, seeds that want to be mayflies,
bounce around on the tablecloth

after all, it's another lost Wednesday

no calendars at this inland beach

a grand inauguration celebrating the primacy of thongs
and baseboard heaters

a certain chastity

(an actual time-delay for a face)

and frankness

Like before, when we were under
the bed, she said I felt like a T-square

This is how we will live forever

a pot of something Ellen calls Gum Bolt

Off over Mona Lake you've
got your Turneresque sky . . .

The President of the Midwest Colonies clears his throat

He was born somewhere in East St. Louis

("before the defection")

and lived near no water to speak of

He's going to explain why
it's a good idea to enlist