Oh I magpie /
now ever so settle for /
mean knuckle of thee /
sort mounts messes with /
close to a bank draw /
still current meant mine /
ease nearly blasted off /
mercy as blue o’ there /
word then colour, see /
drip downed steps /
say we move through /
married far from the thing /
pleasure to give up /
stutteringly
it is enough not to be /
making the white page /
even whiter /
flatter than a photo /
where falling down means memory /
scratches on the sidewalk means family /
I can see there are still children /
being scattered across temperate latitudes /
and a t-shirt hanging from a spruce tree /
near a man-made lake /
all that water evaporating /
in the middle of the city /
standing on blood also makes money /
in these familiar places /
everything was, and still is, a day /
if a family has land /
they can bury at will /
I’m not going to lift an eye /
for the new born /
I can already hear that old curse /
swirling in its inflated heart /
sloshing against the elastic sides /
more of us is not more than us /
that monster made of bodies /
seeing the skyline as the bottom of its jaw /
tasting a whole population /
with the underside of its tongue /
not surprising, the beasts we befriend /
be willing to be called a monster /
when the menu is unrecognizable /
hunger is a darkly coloured balloon /
we bring to the party /
her excuses to leave /
are nothing without bullets rattling in her purse /
the sum is added to the whole /
more and more of what is without /
tilting the planet towards /
a western equator tightening /
like a seven-course belt /
what we know /
most of the world does not
trees fail us everyday /
why have you not stopped that distant war? /
why did you let that daughter die at midnight? /
why did you not blow that virus the other way? /
why did you not change that red light sooner? /
why did you not hide that knife behind the couch? /
why did you not move the president closer to the window? /
why did you not pull the rainbow apart to feed hungry children? /
why did you not drag the river’s current backward to pool all the salmon at our feet? /
why did you not block the sun on that feverish day when every object was whispering? /
why did you not tangle your roots around the water main on new year’s day thirst? /
why did you not fall across that old evolutionary path that led to shrink-wrap and memorandums of understanding? /
why didn’t you speak your mind when you first felt that two-legged crawl? /
why didn’t you rest your arms on our flat foreheads driving us back into the soil? /
why didn’t you bow a little longer?
it all depends how the letters /
are arranged /
the end /
can come first /
then a blinking backwards /
to sleep while giving birth /
so disappointing as adults /
those tiny sparks /
fruit for the tree /
growing up and over /
the breakwater /
tasting salt first /
before the menu is dry /
a dedication years after /
a sprayed “open for business” stencil /
on the gravestone /
someone had plans /
in that suitcase
terrible idea /
so so bad /
disinherited as a human /
if only there was a clutch /
to engage slowly other talking things /
explosives for everyone /
handed out at the community centre on a quieted Sunday /
better than a fence /
the paint only trembles and falls /
a quiet loss that really doesn’t justify conversation /
when I just might cuts the grass /
along satellite photo lines /
that distance keeps things in their place /
celebrate the no vote /
nothing to count /
everyone in the room wins /
competing funeral processions /
petrify traffic /
maybe just a small bomb /
as a reminder of tomorrow’s day off /
the consistent grey of the street /
keeps families chittering /
your sick children /
won’t survive the town hall /
marry them all /
before the light closes /
if everyone had a statue only /
that also served as a rodent trap /
what joy from the next species
the catalogue is too near /
so many things sliced thin /
we must have choice /
mostly the choice to not choose something /
all those pages to be considered /
in that calm, airless space /
where there are many too many things /
but that is the display we deserve /
more than all /
not another earth /
that would be too confusing a responsibility /
and the duplication of like no other /
but a universe closed neat /
resting on the corner /
keeping the table steady /
counting down before we awake /
all its endless matters shut flat
hey subject, get ready for the big bus /
I ignore you most of the week /
but there are still days where something should appear to be done /
I’m not going to repeat myself /
because I don’t want you to repeat yourself /
one reflection is enough /
rations again today /
from some 1960’s military exercise /
you don’t need much flavour /
just a taste to paint the floor /
where everyone can stand chewing on their own teeth /
with a little salt /
you want names? /
that’s only for assigning responsibility for a gift /
a person like a person /
will slap a Hello I’m tag on a fire hydrant /
noon is not bedtime /
and sleep is not a story /
don’t try to get out of this plank so easily /
there’s still a family barbeque /
that needs detailed pyrotechnics /
claims are being processed as we write /
your language stamped on these forms /
building a mystery of absence /
and what happens next to suspect prerequisites /
this tale is a rectangle /
lying low so as to not attract attention /
skirting the third dimension /
a carboard cutout with a pencil and two lines /
no stabbing today /
when the yous are over there leaning against stockpiles /
comparing flat photos of their travels /
not quite yet may even cross the river of a record/
in a flat-bottomed boat /
anticipating no waves at all /
enough level space for a comfortable stroll on water
the room is filled with tiny tables /
no space to walk in or through /
tan legs so straight commanding /
the shrinking floor beneath /
nowhere to sit so nowhere to eat /
like a new paragraph on top of an older one /
read upwards /
tricking the eye that what happened /
has yet to come /
the thermostat is not right /
showing red when it feels blue /
I’ll stop this plane if you don’t stop spitting /
history is delayed /
but the gate is still open /
all you humans /
I’ll find someone to pray for you /
not for salvation /
that vehicle’s been stolen /
but for language at the end /
that is almost always now /
the hanging door chime /
that keeps perfect time /
on the way out
no, not enough stir /
in the morning churn /
echo of the door squeaking /
a last time before the signature flips history /
into a new saturated colour /
it would be useful if we were all coloured red /
bleeding into each other /
in crowded photos of a sidewalk moment /
Yonge Street 1984 /
the face of god at Eaton’s Centre /
pock marked and all the atoms /
searching for a river /
to survive it’s important to ignore other people /
accept that they have already expired /
unless they have a sun chained to them /
make me as useless /
as noon in the arctic /
or the memory of a kitchen timer /
keep a million dead in the loop /
hanging in the town square air /
swaying with the cries and shouts of the heated citizens /
every dock is half a thought /
the waves make it clear /
there is much more
if I stop eating locusts /
will you reclaim the world? /
cover fleshy things with /
the hiss of your wings /
we are in need of a sound /
above our own sound /
something tamping and wide /
like a collapsed circus tent /
across this nation /
molding over perfectly /
our raging heads bent back /
angels are for coffee cups /
machine washed squeaky /
but your numbers will lose count /
aiming for our rasped mouths first /
dragging this race’s posture down /
to a ground level murmur /
and the sun’s light /
will have more space /
over your reflecting backs /
and the calming chitter /
tying continents together