Poem: We're none of us very good at saying no

We’re none of us very good at saying no

Just beneath the sandry mocean

the mitochondria play their sweet fiddles

for the seabass

who cannot keep a secret

in their filthy little hearts

There is no trust out there

just barren narratives passing from ship

to ship on the sodium tongues of pirates

scurvy dogs who couldn’t make it in real estate

or car bombings

I am a missive for the great unimportant things so

meet me on the swings before midnight

Close your eyes, lay your sweet

shoulders into my palms and

wait as I take careful aim and

launch you into the fishnets of Scorpius

I will

miss you but

will enjoy

seeing your

smile there

just above

Sagittarius

comet white

half

surprised

and

blinding.

Forthcoming in Many Mountains Moving

(Boulder, Colorado)

From the collection Great Showtunes of the American Stage  

Photo by MJV