Past Perfect

No one was more
surprised than I was
when my neighbor's
pants caught on

fire after he had
lied about where
he had been the
night before.  His

wife had a fire
extinguisher, which
she was prepared
to use if and

when hell ever
decided to freeze over.

Quick

An object swimming
in a snowstorm has
an antirepresentational
bias that should be

obvious even to anyone
not listening.  Beauty's
biggest flaw is that
it encouragtes the

hope death is only
too quick to undo.
The nothing that
can be done about

any of this is
knocking at the door.

Marlowe

Marlowe felt like an
amputated leg.  But
how could he know
what an amputated

leg felt like?  I didn't
ask him.  I just
digested the image
and continued on

down the page.  I
was nearing the
end of the chapter.
My voice sounded

like someone tearing
slats off a chicken coop.

Underwater Advice

 In a manner of
speaking crossed
with stars little
horses inhabit a

barn.  A child runs
with scissors along
a long corridor,
searching for an

answer to seventeen
age-old questions.
If any of this is making
you uncomfortable,

wake up.  That's
what I did.

Gradually

Is it just me,
of is cause gradually
abandoning its claim
to be the reason

one thing leads
to another?  Clocks
have lost weight
in recent years,

leading me to suspect
that time is on its
way out (that
it's just a

matter of time).

Light


Light lines up
along the fence,
dropping yellow
circles onto the

sidewalk.  A man
walks from one circle
to the next, as if he
were a performer

exiting the stage
one spotlight at a
time.  When the
light reaches the

end of the fence,
it stops trying.

Less Frisky

Underwater dreams
are best, so fish-like
in their serenity,
so ready to dart

away at the first
suggestion of danger.
I'm impressed
by your ability

to sleep in the
traditional way,
feet-first and friendly.
I had expected your

legs to be longer,
less frisky.