paper cranes

you misunderstand the recipe for magic
has no measurements or hits
it is independent of binary patterns
pixel plotted screens or lists

you swipe the fruits from the stand,
chew up the bodies, spit out the pits
they shoot from your mouth
and shrivel up on the pavement

i won't approach it like this
beer in the bed, toxic fits
the overnight leap to justify the twitch
neglecting the soul to flip the instant switch

i know even paper cranes hit and miss
their fragile frames, dodging risk
they've filled the bowl, they've beat the wisk
but you are my healing kit

unveil the chorus

walk to the end of the dock
with your cut off jeans and fishing rod
the high high waters, the tree branch nod
bait the hook, listen for god

i've got a place where we can talk
under the bridge deep in the fog
a quiet place where the city won't bother
a cushioned nook, a welcoming log

it's time to unleash the horses
let the engines in your chest
rev their insides like porsches
these low to the ground operations
have worn out and bored us
untangle the melodies, unveil the chorus!

lightning rod

this churning chasm
this burning, this earth bound spasm
concerning the welfare of your call
i'll blaze a warriors path
abandon my bed, abandon my bath
i'm clear with what i aim to have

will you be my lighting rod?
for these white veins, this flashing fire
'cause i'm coming in from all directions
from the dark corners of the sky

consolidate this crackle and call
these glowing tendrils, electric sprawl
collect my reactions and recall
the sting of my storm with your skybound ball

will you be my lighting rod?
for these white veins, this flashing fire
'cause i'm coming in from all directions
from the dark corners of the sky

and if i am the storm that reaches
the highest light that spreads and teaches
a scattered cloud that seeps and leaches
this matter of time will not defeat us

simon says

simon says
time isn't real
don't waste your life trying to help people feel
like they are something solid instead of spinning their reels
a woman of your kind should stear clear of dark deals

simon says while we're lying in bed girl i can see the energy
flow up in colors around your head
this moment is worth knowing and should be well fed
watch the ingredients come together and rise like bread

then he adjusted his helmet dove from the back of the plane
exited the scene with the same grace with which he came
left me in the cockpit over looking my home state
a new view of the horizon, fields and silver lakes

simon says
don't use my name until the storm of your heart
has subsided and tamed
he would not follow, promise or blame
he just bowed politely and flew away
he just bowed politely and flew away

north, south, east, rest

ended up in car with you
bound for the east coast
i'm sometimes a good listener
but that day i talked the most

about my plastic box of recipes
my time with other men
how i'd like to marry off my knowledge now
with the glow i had back then

take my love to brooklyn
climb to the tallest water tower
fill its bulging frame with flowers

didn't know where you came from
was it the north or the south
couldn't hear over the clammer
of my crazed nutcracker mouth

the sun dipped its fingers
in the water it had found
it reflected off your hair
gave your head a redish crown

you said something about your brothers
that your favorite color's brown
you're heading back to new york city
in the morning you'll take route

take my love to brooklyn
climb to the tallest water tower
fill its bulging frame with flowers
when the smoke coats and dims
the firemen will point their hoses
and instead they'll shoot out roses

didn't know where you came from
was it the north or the south
couldn't hear over the clammer
of my crazed nutcracker mouth

that night i was not invited to the stage
instead i took the back seat
crossed my legs tight and behaved

unfortunate for you it ended up this way
the songs that festered in my throat
were the only thoughts worth saying

take my love to brooklyn. . . .

patterns of flight

these slow, slow bites
of fast, fast food
may be the end of my patronage
for anything good

another meal alone
another blackened night
moths on the bulbs
eating at the light

i still have the coals burning
the melodies and the lines
looping like the coasters
in the fair rides of my mind

and there was something here
something i came back to find
in this turned over card catalog
this puzzling palindrome of mine

i almost believed you
when you said i'd be alright
but baby these wings
have forgotten the patterns of flight

here, here and here

yes i'm too skinny dear
eating time is weightless

in my sleep i float over
to your house of wires
winter profile
leechee eyes
hair crown wild

i am something like a transparent astronaut
i can barely hear the space heater hissing
we would start kissing
------>here
here<---------
-------------->and here
if it weren't for my
nasa fish bowl head
my conflict with gravity
my american flag tattoo
shiney shiney red white blue
white blue blue blue

normally you would start pacing
tell me right now what to do
resume
call backs
give your name
stay on track

but i'm a satellite
just out of your sight
something that warps the light
makes your heard turn
ever so. . . . .