I woke up disjointed, ripped
the blanket off my head
to drink some water. I waited
around last night– downing
whiskey in my going-
out best– for my phone
to light up, to lighten
the room a little bit.
(originally published in Studio One, Spring 2021)
you said wait a few years
you’d move to California
by then already gone
an ill-timed applause
two hands in magnetic
motion missing
like sipping fluid through
an allergic throat closing
such lean times
the tangerine sun
sleeps til noon
didn’t your dad write
a book on the art of joy?
because it is an art
a painting with overused
blues these uppers I knew
gleaming in the froth
of your mouth
(originally published in Scarlet Leaf Review, Fall 2019)
marketers place rocks
in the rubbers of slingshots
define need: your dad
can beat up my dad
muscular and well-rested
yours can afford fresh vegetables
oh plentiful soil
I call upon the wisdom of worms
slithering underground civilization
thrives on the waste of buckets
inside the firmament of dirt
(originally published in Pomona Valley Review, Summer 2019)