2016

I died when you retired
the guitar solo. I died before

reading a nutrition label,
before lowering expectations, […]

Except as the engine,
the absence

of lace, puddling
below the window. […]

I can’t even watch Glory all the way through. Skip the scene where Denzel is whipped—can’t remember it’s not actually Denzel, not his scars on his back, the beauty of make-up. […]

and I begin again: I am many persons.

and I multiply each crown by the strength of my patience. […]

Brando is nowhere to be found. He’s a rust of a man, most of the time.
Air too lush and still plump with his gel-scent, all his gelatine-smooth.
This hall misses him like an emptied palm. Too bad. […]

I thought of you today
from the corner of the classroom
near the terrarium tank
where a Chilean Rose-Haired Tarantula hides […]