Lecture

The fascinating
thing about his
ideas was their
ability to cannibalize

themselves on their
way to the forum.
The resulting empty-
headed lecture drew

applause from those
too young to remember
the time when people
died at the end

of their lives by
not breathing.

Erstens

Beauty's the beginning
of a terror we
invite in because of
its unbroken vow

not to strike us dead.
No warning in the
blood prompts us
to fly away.  We

refuse to court
the actual, that
familiar skeleton
hanging in the

doctor's office like
a rude remark.

At Hand

And then there
were sixteen
reasons not to
return home

empty-handed.
You began to
believe in words
as birds again,

confusing everyone
around you.  The
nothing that could
be done about

anything caught
fire in your hands.

Inert


There might have
been birdsong in
the morning if the
trees had decided

to live.  A small
puppy pretending
to like you in exchange
for food grows

into a dog that
barks at your
enemies.  My
passion convinces

an old prayer to
lead me into temptation.

Predicted

Now that you
are gone, I get
along as best
I can.  I find

my way through
the wall using
a door.  The
distance between

me and everything
I ever dreamed
of expands pretty
much as predicted

back when I bothered
to predict things.

Disguised As Pleasure

The first shall
be last, the last
first.  Those in
the middle of

the line can
go fuck themselves
for all I care.
Someone who almost

knows you thinks
we should go
out on a date.
Your eyelashes

look even longer
than last time.

The Moment
for Mister Ron

When I get
tired of never
knowing when,
I force something

to happen.  I
purposely drop
my fork at
dinner.  Everyone

around the table
looks at me,
forced by me
to do so.  I

have enjoyed sharing
this moment with you.