Rabarbaro
1. Unto a Sparkling Shore
you call on speakerphone
unboxing from your move
decry the shadows
sifting sideways in your room
seas of packages
can't split a spooky bond
unto a sparkling shore
we’ll gravitate anon
building sandcastles in the tide
starlight leaps across
a million miles to fall
don’t fear our image lost
beneath a giant squall
upon an exomoon,
a telescopic lens
future multifacet insect eyes
watch us now
building sandcastles in the tide
fire flowers bursting above the midnight waves
comets flicker down to nothing we can save
here together, tracing toes in the wet sand
could we find a better place to cup our hands
building sandcastles in the tide
2. The Land of Want
he drifts
foggy years of chasing tales
and compass roses
resigned
until she led him up the stairs
and through the grotto
The Land of Want
can’t be sought
The Land of Want
he got caught
The Land of Want
wanton consecration
The Land of Want
transcendent stimulation
released
sidewalk spinning melody
glowing street signs
bright-eyed
fervent as he speaks in tongues
shall he take you
The Land of Want
can’t be sought
The Land of Want
he got caught
The Land of Want
wanton consecration
The Land of Want
transcendent stimulation
3. The Oh
she’s a slipstream superhero
from a cosmic peak I hear her
plateau
they call her “The Oh”
this nerd deserves a pounding
I’m buttoned up by day accounting
so yes
I like to undress
I’m in distress
will she come for me
with a silver bullet?
will she come for me
harder than a train?
must learn what her real name is
I’ll be liquefied
if I dare to ask
to pull up her mask
to a mundane question text
she responds with pin-up sets
oh I’m in
the battle begins
let's see who wins
will she come for me
with a silver bullet?
will she come for me
harder than a train?
deep night, I make my plot
each scene absolute smut
will she come for me
with a silver bullet?
will she come for me
harder than a train?
4. Saison Noir
there is no shelter she can build
beneath the shattered, drifting moon
her shadowed home, the windswept trees
oncoming tidal wave of grief
saison noir
it’s here, it’s here, it’s here
we would curl in summer night
a curtain slit of golden light
her shoulders shaking, face in streaks
a long-fermenting bitter drink
saison noir
it’s here, it’s here, it’s here
on every page that I will turn
I would learn to comfort her
she stands alone behind the door
5. How Very
She’s been my birthstone
since that Sunday
she opened the shop door
smiling that way
How very
it’s nice to meet you
How very
it’s my favorite place too
How very
I’m just being silly
How very
tell me you won’t kill me
her marble-hard mother
always frowning
she swam silver rivers
kept from drowning
now painting the shelving
for her treasures
bargain bin diving
sparkling weather
How very
good to see you
How very
this is why I need you
How very
thanks for the hassle
How very
you’re my anti-asshole
should I sigh and speak of love
she would smile and whisper ‘duh’
How very
we already did this
How very
it’s a losing business
How very
there’s no good it can do
How very
hey I very love you
6. Now That You’ve Found Him
the parting kiss
it made us sway
two years ago
on a suburban curbside
you make your bed
you cook for one
you raise a glass
to toast a counterfactual
hoped-for bachelor
smilin’ atchya
now that you’ve found him
you got that flat
I brought a jack
we wrestled bolts
and laughed in passing traffic
the whispering leaves
the dancing light
you catch a beam
and you're a prism shining
sight spellbinding
brightness blinding
now that you’ve found him
7. I Can’t Act OK
your pen name went cold
timestamps getting old
why did I backspace all the keys
when you won’t read my soliloquy
do you mean to inflict
a new scene from your script
you’re a stage trap walking at me
I just came to watch the play
I can’t act OK
get thee away
I can’t act OK
we drove out to compose
smoky cocktail turns of prose
you unfurled a new lie
as we laboured in the night
now you’re here, what a time
to go up on my lines
looking down on the set from on high
I just came to watch the play
I can’t act OK
get thee away
I can’t act OK
stage direction exeunt
I just came to watch the play
I can’t act OK
get thee away
I can’t act OK
8. Lustr
We flicker ‘til she flutters like a candle
pushing saturation past the safely handled
rising in the dark she frees my wrists
pain flares from a college-era car crash
shock hits like a misconfigured strobe flash
in a forward fold, she finds her ground
she shines with a lustr
my splash of starduster
she shines with a lustr
I simply must
first date and she hardly bothers dressing
no fools pass inspection for caressing
a telling spark arced our frames
she pops like sequins in a theater
plush seats red curtain I’m near her
under marquee lights they speak her name
she shines with a lustr
my splash of starduster
she shines with a lustr
I simply must
beneath her beauteous array
she’s the master, I’m her slave
she shines with a lustr
my splash of starduster
she shines with a lustr
I simply must
9. Butterscotch
let’s defy the heavens
I’ve found my Zerzura
sharing spoons of butterscotch
in sunny Omaha
I could write your brother
you could tell my sons
sharing spoons of butterscotch
sweetness on our thumbs
your feet upon the dashboard
texting your new beau
I’ll wander in your pasture
when we get back home
let’s get dipped in amber
stay ‘til kingdom come
sharing spoons of butterscotch
manna on my tongue
in this little city
we’ll sleep like king and queen
sharing spoons of butterscotch
honey colored dream
10. Felis Caprinae
cat frames, bare toes
summer bungalow
hot books impress
she’s slipping off her dress
here she is, Capricorn Tiger
here she is, felis caprinae
through halls of knaves
she parts the waves
her glance, her shoulder
she’s gonna throw me over
here she is, Capricorn Tiger
here she is, felis caprinae
arms around her in the dark
peaks the apex of my arc
here she is, Capricorn Tiger
here she is, felis caprinae
11. Super Bowl Sunday
I am reading
Super Bowl Sunday
you text to say we shouldn't lose our anniversary
you've got the sads again
in your skinny kitchen
Henry whinging
flopping on the floor
don’t you know by now
I can lock the door
the rainy night we met
Super Bowl Sunday
we drove around to find a bar with no TV
draped in your feather bed
you told me how I loved you
I jiggled on the lamp and said
“well that was pretty quick”
New Glarus framboise ale
is bold and bittersweet
our garden
still blooming
a snowdrop on spring morning
no footfall
can trample
our tangle deeply anchored
I’m thankful
for our lot
for any season we’ve got
short years later
Super Bowl Sunday
you skip the game to read and color with your girls
your shop is closed today
full of pretty treasure
when I call your husband passes you the phone
was it a surprise
you never were alone?
our garden
still blooming
a snowdrop on spring morning
no footfall
can trample
our tangle deeply anchored
I’m thankful
for our lot
for any season we’ve got
it’s not me, it’s not you
love is something we do