whisky

i cannot tell them.
my father
who walks too,
feel the rash of corn leaf
running along your thigh,
romantic rows of undaunting nudity,
fat on the bone.
you mark notches by nibbles
to see how tall you grow
& again
back in the pivot;
as you once were before the seeds took root
smelling poison from the lips
& still kissing them.

-----------------------------

bath

there in the claw-foot tub
my body
folds over itself, curling
carnival mirror
to you
fresh with soap suds
suckling where i rest my eyes

-----------------------------

snow tires

you whisper in the passenger seat
nearly asleep
about disliking the cold

as i keep driving over the
permafrost of distant hells

knowing it's so much easier
to drive south

god being
an omnipotent weight

-----------------------------

white

watching boy swim albino bellied
narwhal
tooth jutting from his face
he nibbles
at the shimmers of sun
reflecting on crests of sea
biding his time
until he learns
to fly towards the light

----------------------------

the forms of midnight

there are times
when arms
lay down under the dark skin
of the night
peeling each bottle that rescues me
out of my hands –
silencing venomous lips
rest over my headless
face
saying things
that sleep into the afternoon
& never realize
that last night
i said the same words
only with less thought
saying; the moon,
it hangs
even when the sun is on us.