POETRY

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.”
—Rita Dove
Going Broke

Winter sat like a wolf
on the horizon.

The Man

the man is stayed bent over the canvas
of my sofa. the man is me the man is him
self and I bring down the whip…

You can’t make them love you, no matter how artfully you betray yourself

Try not to see your own predicament in every fucking thing.

appetites

you quit wearing pants
loaf around your yard
in hole-nipped panties

REVENGE SCENE

Okay, picture this: We’re in an elevator. The elevator shuts down. It doesn’t matter where we’re going, only that we’re alone.

Dear Deer in the Compost Pile

I tap at the alphabet while a single deer
taps at the dirt beyond the brush
on the far side of the tree line.

love poem with dead leaves & color

I would always rather be happy than
dignified. Rather held than held
in awe.

Clotheslines

Ma wrings
a wet world
of colors

I could, even now, go down to the water

Even from this distance I could go out
the door it would bang shut and crumble

Time Travel

I count my homes—
those of my scattered youth
the sanctuary of our young family
the intermittent rest stops
of apartments and vacations.

Like dirt

this is what I want you to to see:
leaves falling because it is too late for them not to

Unerased | Steep Steps

My grandmother asked, “Does it feel like being widowed?”

i do not want to wait until it’s too late

the strands of your hair on the bathroom tiles aren’t sketching defeat. that’s you spitting disease in the face with another day you’ve woken up to.

close up of sun
Mercury in Retrograde

You said it was okay to blame
what goes wrong on the planet

Ode To the Dove Pt. VI (Avrom Sutzkever)

Yes I am guilty, I’m guilty. A sin was desirable then.
Bring the dancer back to the stalks.

Electric Eels, Finishing School, Teeth

Millions of Americans have been affected by identity theft. It’s probably the greenhouse gases.

Good Driver

Lights on the dashboard spell out
“You still can’t kiss me”

painting of apple and grapes
Feast Of

anger, like you can sink teeth into, candy apple

Fallout Shelter

I imagined a cascade of slow death for all / that mattered…