smell of hot pavement and exhaust
lets me know
summer is fast approaching
i've stopped adding and started subtracting
this life from that
feeling every clink
of the ensuing tracks
do numbers matter
here or there
when now
is the inevitable care
sacrifice seems to
come with blood
as does warmth
and silent storage
preparation
of the mother kind
firsts, lasts, seconds
only some things
are preventative

the razor's egde

the river of my heart
floats
high tide
and low
praises
graze
like
silent
bullets
because
i'm bitter
for
being forced
to shoulder it
right hand
and left
what's
my personal best
kingdom come
for what
cannot be controlled
the razors edge
of the untold
broken this
night
and that
marches
i'll never
get back
lineage like
avocado trees
loose leaves
hard fruit
locked up
like
canine tooth
clenching
down
clamping in
too much,
too soon,
again.

whistle

over-function or bust
a servitude of wealth
greater than money
richer than honey
from auntie to mother
the daughter abides
by her coat of arms
even when everything
that kept her happy
goes with the dime
and now
another rises
to the sky
death on the doorstep
or the bathroom floor
what's less
and what's more
and no
she will not
give away her warm
biologically broken
over and under spoken
continually holding
on

harbor

pop another lid
despite the voice within
even the palms
do a dance
even though
it's never what i meant
i explain in dreams
that the severance
isn't what it seemed
but it doesn't matter
because lines were drawn
before i ever had a chance
a silence drawn carriage
where all i had was a hand
on a horse
greater than us both
and so
the winds go
from wood to metal
and the weather
is the only thing
between
flickering lights