had an uncle in the cavalry
road a horse and pretended
to be important
had maps with attack angles
everything written down
orders flowed wine in celebration
pills by the handful

what separated us was us
the distance between ocean city
and newaygo between
baltimore and st louis
who cares
me and you
and the highway
take a few tokens
fill those pockets with laughter
and magic
use your wand

came back missing
two fingers and most
of one mind
feeling obligated
to leave body parts
for the investigators

what the day brings
if you are lucky a
memory
luckier a happy
one
filled with
whatever
you want

wanted
then
wanted more
then
wanted
to take a shower
feel the water
warm
so i could
understand

tomorrow
never came
instead
i got a car
that
has a radio

drives me
home

as if
i
was not
a human being

it exists
in the spotlight
in
the shadows

unity
collective
take the wallet
start
bleeding
and save
the
paperwork

in a crisis
this war
continues
poisoned

is water
the
the only problem
business as usual
now
i’m gonna go
die

until then
remember
tell me something
good and
special

got
pepper spray
sharp nails
and even
carry
a rotten egg

did it
because
when i was
little
i could look
at
the sky

return
now to
finish

standing still
as
words
fly by
here comes
an
idea
there goes
a
thought
reality being
a
candle
being a
handle
for a door
that opens
shut

when
there will
be
no more

this pen
from a florida
steakhouse
writes it’s last
word
no ink left
anyway
comes down to
blood

sold for parts
a ring finger
a heart
a few kidneys
some blood
hair
and chakra numbers
2 and 6