lost snake

someone else in in your window
someone else is in this bed
with the mouth of a widow
once alive, but not yet dead

she's a residue of kisses
a mason jar of pegs
that you'll poke in other bodies
to numb your flashback head

she's deep toned moaning floor boards
translucent yellow legs
drawing lies from a pin hole
as a needle pulls its thread

i'll bring her shiney cherries
i'll feed her warm cornbread
i'll give her the stupid attention
one gives bright-eyed newlyweds

you make some room beside us
you write down what she says
she says
this stage is not forever
even lost snakes will shed

now i can see behind
what she can see ahead
the lingering of a love song
once alive but now it's dead

get her out of this window
get her out of this bed
she's not your lonesome widow
you're still alive, it's she who's dead

needles are fun

the night is old, but we're still young
let's archive our freedom
needlea are fun
come on let's get tattoed

eenie-meenie, what do you choose
the sistine chapel, a snapshot of the news
a patchwork quilt in pasteled hues
a mariachi quartet, an octopus

a landscape of lovely
a tribute to time
a version of the constitution
with lines that ryhme

come on let's get tattoed

we're permanent
we'll never wash off
tucked under the skin
like ancient rocks

*

the night is young, but now we're old
my puffer fish is growing mold
your popeye portrait is tired of holding
his can of spinach, his pirated gold

and oh my jesus his colors less bold
heart and thorns disappearing in my folds
the new york skyline, slouching off my shoulders
the burning bush's flame, tamed down and smouldered

we're pemanent, we'll never wash off
just under the skin,
like ancient, ancient, ancient . . . .