Posts for June 14, 2021 (page 3)

The four of us crowded into the cabin,
papaw’s truck half rust and rawhide
steering wheel cover. On the floor, remnants
of hay. Smells of Big Red gum and Aussie hairspray.
When the tape-deck-slash-clock-radio broke,
we began to sing the country gospel–
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Will the chariot
ever swing low? For years, our erstaz quartet
practiced harmony–memaw’s treble tremble
and us kids yelping, papaw’s strong undercurrent 
bass. On the highway, dark lines ahead, heat
mirages–reflections of black space on asphalt–
the blue sky an illusion we ran over, passed
through, singing on our way to somewhere. 

resting on straw hat
painted lady butterfly
pollinates a bloom

Seasonal words help,

but what says August-in-June?

“Shit! Mankind fucked up!”

The King of Hearts began

We begin as Pluto
and through a quick orbit,
morph
to be the sun,

the center
of our very own
universe.

Inevitably
our prosper
comes to a
halt: no planets left
to exceed,
you’re the best you
you can be…

alone.

We must demote
ourselves
a few planet sizes
until our head is
an earthly shape once more—
a small step down
only to allow someone
else to earn the title of
our moon:

a rock to correct
our waves,
to support our currents.

If this title be mistakenly
given to a fleeting meteorite
we might quickly dwindle
back to a tiny
Pluto shell;
Forced to start over
until you can reshoot
eye catching rays

and chip away
to reveal
a green and blue sphere

hoping to find your moon.

Thank you for hanging your coat

In my closet of demons

Sitting in my rickety chairs

And drinking tea from an old mug

Running through the tall grass

That no one has time to cut

And jumping in the dirty creek

For cleaning my shoes

That have years worth of dirt

Thank you for giving me the bed

And taking the floor

We all have our problems

In our head and in our lives

Some things aren’t always a priority

Because our mind takes up our entire day

Surround yourself with the people

Who help you and don’t judge you

The people who hang their coat

after Pauletta Hansel

On the island where I’m from people talk to people they don’t know like they’re people they’ve known all their life and desperately want to catch up, whether they’re in line at the bank, the grocery store, or Taco Bell. Nobody seems to be going anywhere ever so everybody is always exactly where they want to be. I’ve been trying to greet back to my island all my life, but it turns out I’m too quiet and there’s always somewhere I’m trying to be so I have trouble finding my island. When I’m lucky, I catch a glimpse of it, but by the time I type the address in Google Maps it’s floated off somewhere else. Oh yeah, the island where I’m from floats,
sometimes on the waves, sometimes the ditch, sometimes the clouds. 

sometimes
and it’s back
so now is one of the sometimes
I feel as though I should 
     go
     run
     leap
not necessarily seek but expect
explore while tethered to this ground
     which is why I never end up anywhere
          except here
and here is good, fine, safe
though I wonder what is there, past the horizon
and if all of this that is not joy
     would stay behind, enabling me to be free and clear

So dense and total
This fog of self delusion
Only feet, no tracks