A cat in front of
the art gallery
becomes both
caricature
and masterpiece
Where do we stand
beside such a cat
What changed when he passed
by the door

A hornet’s nest step the way forward is a hornet’s nest step honest figured slip step misstep would trigger a misfit between catcher and glove

The moment never fit hand into glove but overran as fist into-

Misspent the hours never saw the next step is a hornet’s nest step tongue twister I will miss what could have been what has been torn

Lucy keens
we’ve been howling this week
for Colorado and Sara
She leans in my face
Near toppling
Licks the air
At times catching my nose
The cat watches
Her own fur cowlicked
Out of sorts she seeks my lap
Then abandons it for the couch
Her yellow eyes blink at me,
“It’ll be okay”
I don’t want this to pass
I don’t want to forget

Darkest sleeves of morning
The rose tipped Rockies
ragged cloth spun out across
a newest bum the sun still pickled
Sags over the valley like so much yolk
I roll down the window
Snap a picture
And miss it entirely

A fever a malcontent bordering fair gardens corruption imminent we say bed your pardon a child lost to the system solar spins on out of reach our hands tied while the fishing line wheels world spins another burial another dead end

Feeling blunt and razored thin think to burn what all has been a tornado of notebooks a forest of thoughts what is the purpose except tie yourself in nots
Not good enough not hot enough once I walked a steel blue edge of melancholy and it fed my pages now flat mesas no bumps no ditches to find the song in

Lost is it

Isn’t it lost output shaving the clouds for some dream that will taste like soap
Then why

Because I must

Then why not see

Because I must improve

Popular is fourteen year old girl territory I’m talking soul touch
To do that to feel that to read that
That is what drives me
And almost almost
So close to something like Christmas
To something holy

No I’m just ranting
Good night

The moon mutters his presence we raise hands in salute burnt coffee night browned teeth hellos stars like rich cavities filled

A clarinet player practices into the night squeak smack through the decent walls frustration of one build into frustration of all

I’m running pathways into the tall grass following my past I need a way back
Even if it’s just to place my nose on the glass and breathe that I see you I see you I see you so

Don’t you quit