Tag, You're It

You tally the hands

that have touched you

this week:

the deli lady

taking eight quarters

in her leathery palm

for commute coffee;

a coworker

tapping your arm

mid-story, for emphasis;

a misled combat nurse

or two, God bless 'em;

an old friend who tried

to cheat on his wife

after your handshake;

that off-duty masseuse

in fishnets and leather.

None of it adds up

to what you deserve

and

none of it adds up

to what you once did

and

none of it adds up

to what they say

a person needs

to persist

with paying the bills.

"You'll be fine," she said

on her way through the door

but she was only telling herself.

Forgiveness is a nice idea.

Left on Read

Your body's quite the temple

As far as I'm concerned.

All it guarantees, though

Is to hurt and learn.

This Club of Sleepless Nights

Soon will have inductions.

Our members mask the pain

With cheap laughs and production.

Sharing fluids and our time;

A destination we all know

Assessing one another

Like piss-holes in the snow.

The hardest thing to do:

Return the energy you're sent.

Prepare to convalesce

In this beginning of the end.

Curiosity

I found your lost

earring in a room

I never showed you

and while that might

deter most

I've played the dead

cat, as well.

Jupiter's Boulder

You can try

to talk us down

but I'll walk us down

from the gallows.

You can say

that it's been a fight

but the best fish do

until they're caught.

You can laugh

from a distance

but you can't keep it

any more than I can.

You can tell

your dad I said this.

I'll shake his hand.

You'll see.

Smash Cake

A bearded farce

the ringleader

puts his best foot forward

for the motherlode.

You don't even know

her favorite tree.

Can you feel

me nipping at your heels?

How do you change

your signature?

No dog to save

the bone for

with the elephants

in the room.

It's a low-speed chase

so lawyer up.

That hand on my back

at two in the morning's

the only thanks

I'll ever need.