Book o’ Verse

Looking into your warehouse it’s clear that
someone’s really good at stacking boxes.
I know they use machines
but it’s still a skill
to form
a lattice like that
three stories high
to hold against
the pull top boxes feel… Read on Macduff...

That tree at night is so beautiful.
I saw it. I saw the beauty.
I claim this vision with my
artist’s eye. My eye so
true you crave to see
the beauty I see. You pose
and claim you saw … Read on Macduff...

Escobar couldn’t hear so good.
His cold — the same cold he was
complaining about last month —
had taken root now, deep inside
the curly spots that led from ears to brain.
You might think he would open his … Read on Macduff...

on the plane ride home
that I might be the one who dies young —
that flimsy-bodied office worker whose organs
gave out.
Then the smiling round
retired banker capturing me at the local tea shop
telling me only the … Read on Macduff...

He achieves a softer plush with his face
letting the gray grassy mass
accumulate.
Short enough he will not chew
a whiskey growth
a little moss.
Something to rub at during meetings.
that won’t come come off
on the fingers.

Would you like to dance?
A gazillion years later
would you still like to dance?
Put on high boots and a dangerous skirt?
Are you addicted to garbage
this weekend? Age inappropriate?
Will you shake that thing?
And are you … Read on Macduff...

"He's breaking all the time!"
our cabbie says.
He's what?

"The cab in front of me is breaking all the time!"
Oh my lord. Somebody stop him.
We need time!

And then of course I realize it's
just that it's 

Other boys stay out late and smoke.
They use bad words.
They worship false gods.
When they ask me to come along
I say I’m busy.
I’m keeping my hands clean.
It’s been hard work, really really hard work
keeping … Read on Macduff...

Chicken and eggs lobbed
from twelve feet away keep him
fed. They comb his mane when
he’s sleeping. They clean his chin with a sponge.
Planted in someone’s garden next to
the tulips.
Cool dirt and pebbles
pack up tight … Read on Macduff...

Counting beans, one for every
word you said today.
A waterfall of frozen
lima bean conversation.
Bright bean rage.
Soft, velvety heirloom beans.
Bean opera. Beans buzzing
in a thick glass jar.
Where do all these beans come from? —… Read on Macduff...