“Once I ran to you / now I run from you ”

—Soft Cell

●

family week at the ranch ` date night w. the ghost of u
a gathering of demon-dolls ` washing saintly feet ` as jesus asked of his disciples
obedient footmen meeting the hounds ` site-specific owls & flèche
coffee tin concealing evening train ` commercial value of reclining nude
we think so little of u ` poetry born out of need ` maybe love means control
any time of day ` the inmates at the asylum singing along ` thank u for ur hospitality
pls respect us ` our bodies are different from urs
what we’re looking for ` is musicality ` misplaced chanel handbag ` thé au lait w. gold hardware
look at us ` always managing to find two pennies ` to rub together ` for the things that matter
burlesque at crazy horse ` french dip at caesars palace ` peach tea & fizzy water
jewelry snatched from neck of ingénue ` small movements like a sparrow’s
boy-diver w. mikimoto pearls ` expecting to be held ` walking the dunes
we understood each other ` i’d never seen such a tiny olympian
should i say i “saw god” ??? ` he strengthened me
there was ` admittedly ` something ` abt his briny face
when i called him a callas lover ` of coz i meant careless
the student show being exactly what ` it sounds like
clueless proctor in palm angels jacket ` nodding unconvincingly ` having given up
how the radiation must’ve afflicted u ` don’t tempt me w. ur bare legs
leslie launching himself ` from 24th floor of mandarin oriental
the most capable swimmers ` being the ones who drown
240 centre street ` formerly the police building ` now a luxury co-op
quick ` merciful bullets ` blowing thru plaster
best man at ur funeral ` telling necessary lies ` every year buying u ` pajamas for christmas
ill-fated remake of oldboy ` promising dust of magic
she cries into her rice pudding ` snail leaving trail of drool
finger me like u do that wine glass ` my only other aspiration ` a disavowed spy
sweater w. brushstrokes ` new brooks brothers ` the bougainvillea is blooming again
this narrative ` something’s gotta give
this fire ` it really brought the house down
wouldn’t u say ` the bill has come due
u were at fault