be direct
be tactless
hurt won’t last
nearly as long

we keep doing the things we want
until we don’t want to anymore

the lizard pumped up from the ground
he was a tough lizard like the others
but the human child caught him
with a simple piece of long grass
created a loop for his neck
the human child cradled him gently
he attempted to bite the human child
he was let go twenty minutes later
in a place far from his favorite rock
he didn’t feel so tough anymore

I’m not sure about it
I’m aware of possibilities
but I don’t assume truth
I’d be embarrassed if I did
any of them could be true
regardless of what I want

grip the table
feel the muscle
in the core

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