literature

Road Rash

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As you approach

your personal best,

a classic fishtail

jettisons you to the ground

with a whipcrack.

Earth,

caught in the tangle

of opposing gravitational forces,

careens toward you

at hundreds of thousands

of miles an hour.

But you are going

slightly faster,

bouncing as you make impact,

you land on your back

and come to painful rest.

Abrasions on your

forearms, knees and shoulders

where the gravel

made contact.

Shirt torn and bloodied.

When you stand,

and dust yourself off,

you feel all the bruises

to your ego.

You want to tell yourself

good lies

like “I’m totally fine”

but must confess,

those never mend

broken skin.

It doesn’t look like it

but you know just

how lucky you are

to limp home.

Telegraphing

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I was just about sure

my words would always

go unheard.

Dots and dashes

between two cans

intertwined.

Who’s to say

the notes will make it there,

or side-wind

through one ear and out the other,

or bounce around

inside your skull.

Know what I mean?

Trapped in the highest spire

of our respective mind palaces.

No runway,

no helipad,

we’ll have to drop each other

a line.

Our words

will run along

the overgrowth.

May we drink wine,

tell tall tales

and catch up —

even when we’re far away.

Living Fossils

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I am the way

God made me,

nothing more

and nothing less.

We all have our cracks,

yet I am not broken enough

to fix.

I may be stuck in my ways,

only because I know

they work well.

I’m not looking

to be understood.

Things have changed,

new ages

came and went,

but I’m still here,

rock-solid.

Time has told me

only one thing,

that I am well-designed.

To endure

means a lot more

in the long run

than to conquer.

Rarely do I reflect

on what has brought me here,

I know only

how to survive.

“The fish is that last to know

it lives in water.”

In the Flesh

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I wish the fire

in the pit of my stomach

would warm my heart

during cold nights,

but the heat

doesn’t quite

travel that far.

I belch up smoke,

because I am only skin and bones.

My Achilles’ tendon,

sore and raw

from javelin wounds

that won’t heal,

because I can’t stop

picking at the scabs.

I am only human.

If only I could

power wash

the spaces

between the folds in my brain.

Unravel it, rinse it off

and wring it out —

but it has to stay

in the case

because it doesn’t travel well.

I am the sum

of all my defective parts,

inextricably stitched together

with connective tissue,

take me or leave me.

Inhibitionism

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In the throes of

cost-benefit

analysis paralysis,

I change my mind.

Give me a nudge,

in the right direction,

just enough to budge,

and overcome the friction.

Pivot after pivot,

like I’m double-jointed,

but I’m too rigid

to be a contortionist.

In the midst of

figuring it all out,

I think twice.

I’ll come around again,

as I move along the bend.

In a moment of clarity I ask,

is this just how it is

forever, then?

I’ve begun to understand myself,

then I thought better of it.

Clockwork

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Despite the flashiness,

try as it might,

lightning never strikes

the same place twice.

Power without focus

is just bluster.

Clocks, especially

the broken ones,

are much more consistent

than that.

But with nothing set in motion,

a steady hand

does not impress.

When the gears move synchronously

tooth-by-interlocking-tooth,

we can read deeply

into the kinesics.

To your horror

you may find

some things in common

with the automatons.

We all know the truth —

imitator,

yet another simulacra

lost in the wrong end

of the uncanny valley,

you tell yourself.

But who’s more convincing?

Chrome

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Rows upon rows

of identical 3-bedroom homes

say “success,”

but where are all the

happy families?

Wrought-iron statues

depicting long-dead

historical figures

say “tradition,”

but what happened

to all the sculptors

and scholars?

An assembly line of shining,

suped-up cars —

plastic fenders

sprayed with glinting chromium

paint says “progress,”

but what have we

left behind?

A wide-open field

of gleaming

gilded lilies swaying

in the breeze

says “prosperity,”

but where did all the food go?

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From the Waiting Room

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I’m convinced that

if I got to see purgatory,

it would have those

dim old fluorescent lights

like in the dentist’s office.

Coffee tables

adorned with Styrofoam cups

and nondescript vases

full of plastic flowers.

I will fall apart before they do.

And even with all of those

ancient magazines

to read,

I wonder if I’d find the time.

My crossed legs,

already well acquainted

with pins and needles,

would dance in place.

Caught in the vacuum

of stasis.

In this case,

I’m just fine with the cold comfort

of “could be worse.”

At a crossroads

between appointments,

waiting for my turn.

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Trash Compactor

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Only with destruction

am I preserved

for time

immemorial.

Every straggler

and bedraggled castaway

congregated —

a formation,

a phalanx

of immovable objects

loitering.

The hangers-on

hanging out

a little too close for

your comfort —

sorry for any inconvenience.

But we were pressed to this,

left to our own

devices.

We’re just like-minded

and fit together

so perfectly,

with a little coaxing.

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Hanging Gardens

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Please,

please stay.

I’ll do

whatever it takes.

You’ve come a long way,

and I know it’s not ideal —

It’s a huge adjustment

and you miss home so much.

If it helps,

I’ll bring the oasis

to our backyard,

to take your mind

off the dry heat.

No more mirages,

no more marauders —

only figs and pomegranates

in the shade.

Trickles of spring water,

date palms,

verdant vines

that wind and climb

up the bricks.

Brisk breezes

and reliefs along the walls

that tell our story,

it’s all for you.

This isn’t home to you,

not yet,

I get that.

Please,

please stay,

I’ll make it worth your while.

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