the jealousy of veronique rough

jealousy storm-troops
my languid senses,

boot stains lip
whip smears glass

You, who have everything:
home, country and life

cavort like an immortal;
purchases are indeed important
when currencies collapse.

the donor and the boat

Here, I lie, escorted
to donation number four

the final shore

stitches open
blooming holes
that deepen and grow

The boat  a metaphor,
something lost, something more
than a completed lifespan,

a donor's timid lore.

Foreign Accent Syndrome

demon-monkeys wore
ancestor masks, chattering
in a language

so thick on my tongue, ears
polished to a sheen of pressed
apricots

memory tenses, then assaults
all these stories, embellished
crowned, transcribed

maliciously collapse

postal code error

I yearned to send
you pieces of my life:
hat boxes, cardboard cases,
but I was entirely wrong.

Dying takes so long.

twice upon a time

hold on to a thought
which has not yet lapsed,
a notion fenced by forget-me-nots

a field of wings and gold
parched bridges, chipped steps—

a war zone twice told.