Oh, to be a dune.

We plunge our hands into fragrant sand
On the shore of our very own river.
Begin to dig a hole that we say is the way to China-
And focus on transferring sand
From one place to another.
As if it's an important job. We furrow our brows.
...As if we could have some sort of affect on this landscape.
As if the shore will not have what it wants, will not make smooth again our meager divets,
Reclaim our attempts at change.
And at the end of the day it is our own skin that is changed-
Darkened from sun, saturated with the power of the current,
We pulsate on that walk home.
Lap at our own shores with parched, salty lips.
And under our nails we are scrubbed clean, but for the tiny pieces
Of this day that we decide take with us.
What changes us, renews us, it comes with us.
The rest we leave behind.

I think we might be dating maybe and i kind of like it sort of (and other firm statements)

You came over in a hat that made your walk bouncier
With a Dr. Pepper under your arm for me.
And at 12:01, we realized it was your birthday
Standing by my fridge
I grabbed you by the collar
Kissed you
And we danced a little, in my living room, with tent as chandelier
My arms reaching up to rest on your neck
Long enough for my cigarette's ash to bend and drop behind your head
Like a weak magnet chain
The good kind of topple: absent-minded.
And we talked about altars and ice cubes and honesty, trains.
And when i woke up in the morning, you smiled at me and kissed my forehead three times.
You make me happy (birthday).

Two birds, one stone.

You had forget-me-nots
Blooming from a hole in your throat as you spoke
And i was mesmerized,
Surprised by the early presence of purple
On the spring's landscape.
And me, without my shears, as you posed your question.
I listened, my hands shook.
I wanted so badly to give in
To support your frame again, again, just one more time.
To give you what you want, because I care about what that is.
For some reason.
But my shoulders grow weaker by the day,
the slope from nape to joint more pronounced.
Collarbones peek through, neck tendons
a physical manifestation of the clenching that comes with tears.
So I said no no no
As I swung from a lamppost on a corner
Your sound: indignant, surprised.
A bus roared by and I made myself hang up.


I want to run from this town-
Leave you in the dust for once-
Go somewhere where you can't reuse meaning, because you won't know mine anymore.
Go somewhere where I hope for chance that isn't tied up in you
And your fucking beautiful shoulders
Your sad eyes
Your wheat germ skin,
and your grip on my heart.

Every streetlight I tried to shoot out that night
With my new slingshot
Was an attempt to extinguish this burning in the middle of me
But the glass is so strong on those damn things
So I snuck into someone's backyard
With a man who has the same name as you
And we kissed in the mulch, the smell of spring filling my nose
As we giggled and rolled, spitting out pieces of earth
And when I said goodnight to him, it was two birds, one stone.

"And I'm with another man, he's asleep I'm wide awake. And he tries to win my heart but it's taken....time."