lady vagabond madpath

my feet delight
in dust and clay;
it has been such a long,
maddening journey

all the silk ladders
that lost their knots
the picnic baskets
weaving smoke and rot

it was always about you,
every step, each hushed thought

now I learn to foil shadows,
roast chestnuts and tumble opal clots.

rustic love

when I saw
you without a head,
it made me shimmy
out of my snake skin;

it made me fall
in love all over again

your parts
so much tastier
than the whole

of you never

forget-me-not.

joshua island

collected for the beloved,
we, the uninvited
fumble with our petty woes

grievances the colours of dun and beige
we are neutered so deep into nothing

that our imaginations collapse—unbuilt bridges,
unsung lines that might travel back

in time to You, Joshua, the beloved,
the only righteous one
among us, your disheveled, shore-torn islands.

moonstone love (for Joshua)

Finally,
I will not divide
precious from base,
love from denial

your smile
follows with neither
nor guile nor desire

we need no revolution
to be humbled and silenced.

 

sometimes a solution in tulle & froth

how clean this design
for the chimphouse, turquoise tiles,
shower curtains that feature dolphins.

I concoct a bubble bath
that bleeds and froths
tangerine gold with seahorse mirth

years and years of panic
in labs can be burped away
after a platter of home-baked
fauna and aubergine tonic.

my donation ring-tosses
past a thousand. a volley-ball
sized drain sucks fecal matter
and pituitary tidbits far and farther
from your farthest surgical disaster.

a matter of kindness

stalled upon a carousel,
it is no longer the story
of what is true or false,
but awkwardly becomes
a matter of mere kindness.