Now all I seem to be able to do is write strange
Poems Even eating is like
Isn’t there a better way to get nourishment
Even sleeping
It’s like hauling my ass dream to dream
It’s like Where is this? Who are you?
Knock knock Who’s there? It’s nobody again
The door is a hole under the pepper bush
How did you make it knock? See what I mean?
This is all beyond me
I live in a hole at the corner of the garden
I live way down deep in a nest of leaves
I’m like McKibben on a bad day Are we worth saving?
Figure it out for yourself Are you worth it?
The door is on the south side
Are you coming in or what?
Do you want to talk? Do you want to borrow something?
A cup of something?
A manifesto? A reason for drawing the line?
Do you have a purpose?
Do you still go by your birth name?
Or your rebirth name?
Will you do me a favor? Will you let me name you?
Do you want to compare fears?
Do you like your manifesto? Do you like where you are standing?
Would you like to sit? Lie down?
Now that you are standing there I
Can barely see you I’m being honest
What color are you? What are you wearing? What
Are you thinking? What is your next demand?
I might not be the best person for you right now
I think you want a different poet
I can’t thank you enough for coming I can’t
Thank you enough for leaving
I’m going to dig a little deeper now and curl up
I need to dream out loud where nobody can hear me
I’m a badger, an old goat, a burned out pipe welder
I’m a poet I’m a dowser I’m a martyr
I’m an activist A complainer I’m a lawn mower
An anxious white progressive A safety match
I’m a medicine keeper I’m a spider A misshapen book
A slingshot A liar A coward A lost kitten
A bird with a broken wing A broken record
I’m sick of being right I’m sick of being sick
Of being right or wrong but I like talking to the sun
I like making stir-fries I like my seasoning chart
(With broccoli you can add caraway and dill
With Swiss chard marjoram and parsley)
I love the smell of onion cooking
But don’t get too comfortable
Find your own rabbit hole Keep going until
You see the light Change the ring tone on your phone
To outstretched hand Night-blooming cactus
Clothespins at rest Trembling eyelid
Sinking feeling Cicada rhapsody
Leave a brief message I’ll get back to you
………….
photo credit: Tobias Lindman at https://www.flickr.com/people/67474215@N08/