aphorism
i think enamel is unreasonably indulgent
as i lick your teeth in the backseat
all things considered we romanticize porcelain
ask it to bend beneath the heat of desire
i do desire your mouth stretched out wide
memory floods the upholstery
we sink to the bottom of seltzer
only bubbles and bristles gnarly rasp
removing film is inherently violent
glaze this body with the solvent
i see you in twos
this line is too long to hold us here
i’m not really trying to be anything
the loose strands are stuck between my fingers
fallen hair is considered luck so flick an eyelash into water& wish
whatever
mascara can be decoration
adorn my face with your face
wet denim in the middle of july
the earth is whatever shape you say it is
this has gone on too long
everything is spinning
pull the car over
i ask you what’s real you tell me we are all water& electricity
impenetrable and impermanent
hands dent the earth
if you die with all your teeth you’re lucky
Between Careless Water and Glazed Glitter
after Gertrude Stein
A virgin, what is a virgin, a virgin, a whole virgin is made,
in between a place and water, so between curves and outlines,
perfectly unprecedented, arranged between satinwood and that.
There is no gratitude in mercy, so suppose in a single strand of hair,
there is breath, a sinecure if you will, and cleansing, so much cleansing,
and convincing, certainly gratitude is handsome and charming.
Between washing and polishing, there is spitting, and out of obligation
there is giving, if not natural, there is still some use, and that is to say,
there is order in angels and nothing is more broken than it can be mended.
There is no shining, so much as a calling, which lends to choosing
a whole thing, so much really that strength is a joint, certainly a glittering,
a showed splitting, perhaps even washing, it certainly shows no obligation.
What was chosen yesterday has no search, the change has come, the change in that
is nickel, it is originally unwelcome, but there is some use in giving
the whole element, mending a whole thing with that.
In between a narrow footpath and a mild cold that shows more meaning,
that does show outlines, real seasons, glasses, and curves, it does, does that show that,
does it, it does change in more water, it shows the whole element of angels, it does.
Tender Buttons [pear]
after Gertrude Stein
peel the pear, slice the soft, raw form.
red wine, star anise, cinnamon stick,
vanilla bean, cloves, orange peel.
bear the fruits means to yield results
poach the pyrus, mealy little nude.
permitting the body to decay is difficult,
preserving, even harder.
a little piece, a little piece please
seduction in reduction, medium-low.
vinegar boils at 244.4 degrees fahrenheit,
who even cares.
sometimes god has a face
semi-sweet: skins, seeds, stems and all.
spread across a bowl,
everything touches everything else.
this is use