Michael Sikkema

from Skunk Pocket

=
               =
                =
              =
                 =
                =
 \\\\\\\\\\  =  //////////
|on guard, garden |
  //////////  =  \\\\\\\\\\        
                  =
                =
                  =
              =
                 =
                   =
                        =
                    =
                        =         





     l
l i g h t                  o
o          ,’               o    
o            ,’    n o o n
n i g h t  ,’     i           i 
           r   ,    g             g
           i                ,   h                h                               
           l i g h t                   t
   t r i l l            ,’”,
                           ,”
                             —))))





money is sex
means the toy is

worn inside
the person simulcasting

and vibrates in reaction
to digital tips of

a dollar or more
not that the tongue

of the green
woodpecker is

so long it has
to coil behind

the skull under
the eyes everyday




there are these people
talking about
weather I’ve never

actually seen weather
in one round house
of a damaged

world a life
support network is
being tested

it consists
of a mini
ecosystem

under air-tight
glass where
rat insides

trade places
with a green
process




out of nowhere what
we were all expecting

the privacy policy suggests
that releasing your personally

identifiable data might
be necesssary to comply with

legal requests or to perform
your basic function

Michael Sikkema was born and raised in rural Northern Michigan, and is the author of 5 full length collections of poetry, most recently the forthcoming You've Got a Pretty Hellmouth, from Trembling Pillow Press. He is also the author of over a dozen chapbooks and collaborative chapbooks, most recently [crawdads skitter on river dildoes], from Grey Book Press. He edits Shirt Pocket Press and enjoys correspondence at michael.sikkema@gmail.com.