sway
sway so far you fall
turn
turn so far left you go full circle
run
run so far you leave behind the old you

the teenage girl thumbs through the newspaper
a woman was murdered yesterday
her body was left on her bathroom floor
the blood arranged itself on the tiles
in an ugly unpoetic pattern
the teenage girl grabs scissors from the kitchen
she carefully cuts the article out
and paper clips it into her diary
she has a collection of clippings
reminding her to protect herself

5:14 blaring in blue light
the kitchen is dark
I lean against the fridge
and stare at the light
filtering in from the living room
I take a sip of water
my feet feel heavy
the floor is hard
put the glass down
and go back

to be said in a friendly voice:
hey!

unbridled excitement
human beings exist
I can make them laugh
water drips on the paper
blue ink fuzzes and swirls
everyone is from Texas
but I’m from here
personalized post-its
we start a journey
but I can’t hear most of it
we all clap anyway

sturdy
sensible
sometimes sweet
sometimes silly
so serious
simply super

pockmarks in the ceiling
the caress of the fan
the loud hum of the wall unit
a slight headache

middle aged Latina woman
stands on the sidewalk
her feet are together
her back is straight
her face is pretty and tired
she holds a red cup
3 plastic bags on the ground
they are full of cleaning supplies
she wears a beige men’s shirt
and loose blue jeans
her brown hair is pulled back
a moment of connected clarity

self-indulgent madness
take the hardest route
for the poetic waxing.
please, there is a place
for good common sense

we can’t name the flowers
but we want to
draw them in books
press them in the dictionary
pick them for a vase
admire them
even nameless