1. |
Piltdown Man
03:15
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Dawson’s Piltdown man
teeth assembled from that of an
orangutan
Why would he do such a thing?
Of course,
what a stupid question
Outside our little tent
your dog must have caught something
I followed you both and let out
screams to be let in
Here comes your dad
annoyed but
wildly patient
6 am - so loud your mom had to kick us out
We ran the wheelbarrow
around and around
Last night I dreamt your face
changed through the doorway as
I pushed you panicking
Agonize in waking to admit
moments raging though
so very
small
like this
Outside our little tent
your dog must have caught something
I followed you both and let out screams
to be let in
Here comes your dad
annoyed but
wildly patient
6 am - so loud your mom had to kick us out
We ran the wheelbarrow
Around and around
A template, if there is one
I still think of
Outside our little tent
your dog must have caught something
I followed you both and let out screams
to be let in
Here comes your dad
annoyed but
wildly patient
6 am - so loud your mom had to kick us out
We ran the wheelbarrow
Think of the sound
In the afternoon you both fell asleep
Still knowing more than me
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2. |
Your Reply
04:19
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Somebody wrote “tender”
in the novel’s margins
as if to remind about a precious force
In the next paragraph the protagonist
sat down on the belly of a dead horse
The author I read fell
from a window, many stories high,
stretching out to feed pigeons
or a stray cat
(depending on the website)
Whether or not I have
or was given
a little more time
there just doesn’t seem to be
much room for a reply
And it’s possible it only belongs
where it happened, fine.
According to John
fear softens into doubt
To what do I cling and think
is mine?
No reply
“Think the last time I came up this way
I was younger”
said your aunt, isn’t it a good line?
We found the garden abandoned and that night
became dark
over chicken and wine
Documentarians tossing lemmings stunned
over the edge
Wartime juveniles shot and martyred for the
crime of stealing eggs
Dinner by the way
was divine
I drank the last of the coffee
waiting for you to rise
Whether or not I have
or was given
a little more time
there just doesn’t seem to be
much room for your reply
And it’s possible it only belongs
where it happened, fine.
According to John
fear softens into doubt
To what do I cling and think
is mine?
No reply
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3. |
Rare Thing
03:30
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My love,
in the dream
you were already speaking
I was too shocked to make
any one of my tired speeches
Listen,
that’s a rare thing for me
Sunlight touches on the
plants that I’ve been torturing
Yet when I come over
I love that quick delay before
your face alights
in recognition
I know there is
love that doesn’t have to do with
taking something
from somebody
was so much for me
not real? I only managed to stay small by
making giants out of strangers
Through the chaos I can see
all afternoon you inhale
every bouquet you meet
Come to think of it,
the dream
was a nightmare
with no one who knew me
just then
you were there
2 foot tall little bear, you
took my hand and
introduced me to everybody
I watched as you were named on
that mid-February morning
I know there is
love that doesn’t have to do with
taking something
from somebody
was so much for me
not real? I only managed to stay small by
making giants out of strangers
Through the chaos I can see
all afternoon you inhale
Every bouquet you meet
I have to stop myself and admit I am happy
there is
love that doesn’t have to do with
taking something
from somebody
was so much for me
not real? I only managed to stay small by
making giants out of strangers
Through the window you look at me
I have to stop myself and admit
you make me happy
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4. |
Detroit Lake
03:22
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Quick
the hawk took the poor thing
just to the left of me
You were mid-sentence when
I had to interrupt you
in order to relate
Two grey stripes
flew up out of sight
I mean one—
the other no longer struggling
“I cannot hear you,”
laughing up the mountainside
Unobserved, my voice grew
increasingly gruesome in the quiet
Turns out
one can lose nonetheless
looking for witnesses
Miles from all
that’s between us at stake
algae blooms up in Detroit Lake
Listening for my turn to come next
Leave, the same as I came in
more or less
Across the table words fly
underdone they rarely collide
Former wells are exhausted
so you pose the question—
Are pigeons ever
carnivorous?
Turns out
sometimes, yes
Looking for witnesses
Miles from all
I believe is at stake
Algae blooms up in Detroit Lake
Listening for my turn to come next
Leave, the same as I came in
more or less
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5. |
A Secret
04:40
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Last time I was here-
changing the subject,
“Just look at the lawn” you said,
“It shouldn’t be so green in December,
do you think we should worry?”
It’s been a long time
since we argued and
that argument ended
You walk in and out of pain
like a tide
How did you want me to look
even older?
even older?
how did you want me to look?
even older even older
don’t tell me where
you’ve been
Ok
Of course I’ll visit when I can
-Of course you’ll visit
when you can-
Of course I’ll visit when I can
of course I’ll visit
when I can
I’m not making a fuss
I’m not making a fuss
Most of this isn’t even
a secret
Impossible questions, like:
How can you still talk
to them?
How can you still talk
to them
when that long shadow
stretches from
their little house
all the way to the top
of your mountain?
But of course you’ll visit
when you can of course
you’ll visit
when you can…
And when I said justice
it just isn’t what
I meant at all
I dare not speak for you,
but I look forward to
remembering him as a bad man,
and that’s it
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6. |
Went to LA
03:56
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Yes,
I still worry about it
Out of self-preservation did I
begin with tenderness?
The cannibal dragged his son
into the kitchen
Outside, the deaf man fled the barn
abandoning every
father’s image
Sure, sure
I went to LA
together with my maid
she was awful quiet
her hands were
shaking in the donkey’s mane
I went to LA,
searching for my own face
I couldn't find it in the dry
toothy maw of the lake
Heaven is a second…
Thought you summoned horses
thought you summoned childhood
Oh the humiliation of having
been perfectly understood
If I could observe
beyond every open mouth
men always end up telling you the truth
I can see it now
Every night is a lesson
down a long hallway
Good God this house,
get me away
Sure, sure I went to LA -
what other choices could I make?
I sing along the road
an idiotic smile on my face
I went to LA
It was easy in the first place-
Wait,
wasn’t I with a friend?
What difference does it make
The owner of
the laundromat
gave me a ride home
she said she saw
me come in alone
Heaven is a second chance
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7. |
Lean
03:51
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“Leeza, show them your doll-”
a tiny face up on the balcony
of a capuchin- huh, I wonder what happened
after the fed up remaining staff
all stormed in
Was she, free of a master
released?
Or handed to a kinder custodian
at least?
Nonetheless,
upon the sight of her your group sped off
leaving behind a doomed lord
looking down
from the top
Jessie, I still can’t
stand hearing the truth
Let’s have one more about other countries
I know you have to get up early,
but it’s what I need
Wish I could have caught
the expression of the captain upon
waiting for the ship hand with whom he
(through email) corresponded…
Only to see
you pull the truck door open, and
reach out
to shake his hand
Jessie,
can I crash
here with you tonight?
Although my contribution’s been lean…
Woman, love follows where you’ve been
Your legs can take it
just a few more times
I know it isn’t fair
Stories struggle for air
and I need yours
more than ever
climb one more mountain for me, woman
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8. |
Now That I'm Back
03:18
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Woman woke up early
heard a scraping
near her brain
Imagine when the doc took out the roach
how much she must have changed
Afterwards
it dawned on me
I heard noise from every corner
and one night, ate
Raid-seasoned spaghetti
Look up,
the metal sign
clangs in the wind from a wire
Talk small, if at all
my news is blind
and on fire
Only me and big trucks
lost, driving from upstate alone
I came in she had on
that white uniform
I had my first coffee with her
that morning at home
Victory,
gold plated over
violence
No presence save for
memories spiraled and bent
In your bedroom
Voltaire’s severed head
stared me back to bed
You’ve done your best
all the way to the end
Balloons in a foreign park
Shadows of the dance class merge
and come apart
Cough in the mirror, I’d forgotten to call
Now that I’m back
we should try again to talk
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9. |
Carry the Zero
04:23
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