--SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD TO HAVE YOUR INSIDE ON THE OUTSIDE. 
THAT WAY YOU CAN SEE HOW OTHER PEOPLE REACT.

 

Echolocation

Earlier a bat snuck

Into the house
Through some seam
Hanging upside down
Like a black smear
In the rafters
Using echolocation
Quite effectively
When the screams
Became too much
For even the bat
It swooped down
And bit my mother
I thought that bat
Must be Jesus
In bird form
But the bat had
Faulty poison
Or foamy fangs
Though the
Screaming continued
Earlier a bat snuck
Into our house
And made itself
At home
With all the
Other bats
Living there
Bellies full
And satisfied
Crimson dripping
From their mouths

 

Colt

I am trying to discover

How far I can run
Without breathing
The wind is a
Fluid brick wall
Up against my chest
Resisting every effort
And still I run
As a magpie caws
Telling me
It’s not worth it
You’re tired
Go back home
Get it over with
Beatings are
Better than death
But I’m stupid
A confused colt
Caught inside a
Lightning storm
Tripping on prairie divots
Dodging bolts
Sweating slick rivers
As I sprint and gallop
Across a plateau
Reaching the edge
Running straight off
The cliff where
The air carries me
Through a jumble of clouds
That would hold me
In its arms
If they were stronger
If this was just
Another nightmare
Instead of my
Futile attempts
At thwarting
Destiny

 

Grappling

 
Me, I am always grappling
In dreams, falling down
A black hole whose muddy walls
Are too far apart
To reach or claw
To stop the constant dropping
I grapple with the wind
With the swollen moon so close
I can see her gray fetus roiling sea sick
In a bunk bed I grapple with
Each night wondering why
In the morning the sun
Even bothers to show up
When it’s the same old play everyday
The one about the woman who
Convinces her children they’d be
Better off dead but decides to
Use them as kindling because
That’s the only time
Their crackle sounds sweet
The only time
They burn bright