were supposed to have fountains
not just in Santa Clarita, but
in Akron, too, a missed
moment against a brick wall
of self the undermined
understanding of art
versus creator, physical
creation versus memory
music I sang to create
a sentiment of dust
(originally published in EgoPHobia, Summer 2021)
on the phone you ask
who old lyrics were written for
I say my writing is not literal
these are imaginary girls
you ask who are these imaginary girls
I say they are lonely
in imaginary ways they alone imagine
the ways they are lonely
I lay under a dim fluorescent bulb
a soft cotton sheet on my skin
digging a deeper crater in my bed
as in a bodiless void
(originally published in Bitterzoet Magazine, 2017)