touched by rain
the eggplant says you once held her,
then gave her the blade
the garden cries for the cigarette butts
in her poisoned soil
you lied about smoking
you lied about everything
the shadows you cast are
deep enough to dim a desert sun
yet scent rides the air
first flowers touched by rain
their kisses tell me
you’re in them, too
today, june 24, 2022
today, when the patriarchs turn women into livestock
here you are, radio on high, giving forth
your nose ring catches the light,
your shaved head says don’t touch
crank up the volume
that’s rockin’ music you’ve got there
you won’t hide underground, lie in your own blood, die
not today—
today you sing for all you’re worth
uninvited
i love you because you love me
no better reason
golden magnet
sweet wine
honeyed words
so easily sung
this is what we’re born to
seek/hunger for/claim
like rage, love lands
unannounced
uninvited
just like fear
& it’s fear we answer as we
weigh love’s worth,
ponder the cold cell
our hearts become
should we shun it, make excuses,
run off into that long,
predictable, uneasy
quiet called loneliness
glide
she was a hoosier
from the latin quarter
went by velma, then angelique
pinned up her hair
bought a patent leather belt (red)
squeezed her swollen feet
into patent leather heels (also red)
it’s okay to reinvent yourself
especially when the first
version’s not so great
but sooner or later, the hair comes down,
the belt & shoes slip off
(thank god, they hurt like hell)
but that little make-believe
leaves a touch of joy in the eye
just knowing you can,
for a little while,
glide through the world
as someone else
how things end
everything has a center
everything, a lost edge
it feels like we’re about to disappear
so, we cling to that center,
to what we think we know
never realizing that
how things end might
matter more than
how they begin
