that jar is broken /
in the dense bush /
north of Raith /
all the water inching away /
from a warm cup /
there are lists /
no one will read /
in war, the only commanding argument /
25,817 names originally given as luck /
all bitter poets know /
verse is a luxury and a necessity /
frivolous blood that should really be /
a basket of sharpened metal /
left in a schoolyard /
for the next generation /
to plant firmly
joy and pennies on the dollar /
thrown up into the midnight air /
let the choir blow up the children’s balloons /
voice or breath, we decide /
where the roads are built /
and what time the furnace kicks in /
a billionaire’s notebook up for auction /
the representatives say there is determined interest /
how will people get here? there are no drivers /
the notebook does not lie flat /
it’s spine not yet broken /
as the pennies fall, shout the bids /
dancing in place for an honorable mention /
the auction closes, the threshold exceeded /
packed cautiously for a private library /
where the secrets will be ingested /
for the solitary glow /
and a distant whisper /
“Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”
winter does a day /
where mouths are open a little more /
the sun is driven down a little sooner /
the population slips on its assumptions a little later /
hunting in winter is easier /
the kill slides with less friction /
along snow and ice /
and through a forest /
to a warming garage /
eat what your bring down /
there are some who would explode /
whole subcontinents dropped in the gullet /
we’ll come back to this /
after the songs are sung /
and the candles pinched /
first the birth and the death /
over a long weekend /
recognizing the final supper
I used to fret about the last human /
not anymore /
they’ll be whistling as the days close /
envy their footprints folding over the earth’s edge /
the tracks no longer a sign someone was here /
the grand fluff is finally done /
the speakers have cooled /
and the monitors have drained dark /
consider this first birthday /
with a last celebratory breath /
blowing out an unrecognizable candle /
all the chances pitched /
the colours named /
the numbers raised /
now close the eyes /
not quite sleep /
more a stalled frame burning in seconds /
and blind planets pass by as always has /
except for our hurried click
don’t sit quietly /
fidget and force the chair over the riverbank /
unnumb the fingers from lone-syllable gravity /
prepare to draw a claw down the landscaped back /
everyone is another one leaning forward /
like an eager toothpick /
stay sick so the sidewalk crowds see the back of the mouth always /
don’t trust those who shine cutlery /
few need a blade more brilliant than them /
collect obituaries as literature /
not a novel, not a short story, not a play /
a ghostly surgeon’s warning /
best not to have been born /
before the species tripped over the horizon
a little gravel in the bearings today /
can’t claim to be a machine /
except for the leaking fluids /
I had a tail once /
full and furious /
folded it over my head in the rain /
the occasional clot of shit /
more humorous than concerning /
one morning it was gone /
no warning or note why /
now the rain worms into my ears /
shit follows me everywhere /
and the laughs have dried up /
all the “missing” posters are torn down /
who knew a tail was so critical /
lurking behind close enough to keep one warm /
catching the last light above our heads /
if one is found /
keep it under a brick at night /
and straighten out each morning /
primed for the bluster and sway
scream when born /
and don’t stop /
let the boat leak /
until it swallows the ocean /
fill the air /
with counterfeit notes /
an unrecognized currency /
gumming up nano trades /
until the top floors flood /
cry till the door falls off /
then that summing whisper /
more a tune for the closing of the birthday card
forget fingers /
they had a point so long ago /
now the desk hovers over the head /
and ink is sipped in a morning mouth /
dark hole clapping for food /
wait, the bus blue past /
and the neck never launched /
craned over a dried well /
pecking for its own order /
what a dismal portrait lurking at the unveiling /
the feet are down there /
where the sparrows feel little need
all the dawning deflated santas in the world can’t save christmas /
I believe in the ideal /
although I see no evidence on this earth /
I am a quiet god /
polishing my myth in the mornings /
I can see you forget /
the falling of your face /
the warmth turning towards the corner /
I may die today /
figurative or otherwise /
and take the world with me /
that’s my promise to you /
leaving an emptied space /
where new fauna can be invented /
where the always lingering smell of humans is removed /
the freedom of starting at 0 /
nothing before you always /
no need to sleep /
no need to turn away /
breathing in all environments /
air water soil /
all you created moving through your body /
you everywhere and all things again
so long carcass /
wading in your own fluid /
droopy eye for passing charms