a rat bit everything i owned
palm leaves and crysanthemums
every nickel n nebula
and april and winters spent
leaving or preparing to leave
forgetting if i’d already left
wherever it is that i am i am
already chasing an apology
goose half off the ground
teeth half over tongue
love in case u
lack i slapped
tongue into the maple
truck crashed
ink over everything
pain n nipple burst
erosion of soil
an orgasm
teeth worn down
soft edges me
worn down to soft
everything you gave me
the edges the oil slick
barrel church fire years
locked up in the earth
all the horses in me
all the soil shivered
the red stop sign
occluded by white snow
two hesitant drivers
cold hard mandalas striking everything
ice under wheel
a shifting shrieking mist
the brain calcifying one last pattern:
sick.