May - Poem 22
Instructions for Breakup / M. Anne Avera
Letters come in every day from you or from
your family and I can’t
bring myself to read them.
I hate you now
or maybe I just hate
the thought that I’m a sucker.
Like on my smartphone.
I fall for every ad I see and
breathe each one in and
let them change my thoughts.
and now I can say to you:
That is an advertisement.
You are advertising to me.
You are showing me something different
that I am supposed to want.
I almost expect to see you
at my house, in my shower,
underneath my bed covers,
but all that is left of you
is a sales flier and
a half-bottle of Jameson.
The Organ Mountains / Heather Frankland
Look at how The Organ Mountains
capture the colors of the sunset
from one peak to the next
purple, pink, faint red—
a firework display
makes me believe in abundance
even in this desert climate
where my eyes long for green.
Pax Romana / John Hanright
After “The Pines of Rome” by Ottorino Respighi
pax semel, pax aeterna
Vainglorious peace
Built on conquest and slavery
You cannot escape Time’s lease
Time is a force you cannot pacify
pax nuntiata, pax floret
Propaganda – in currency, custom, and code –
Become hegemonic power
Peace by force – whatever the mode –
Is no peace but terror
pax dubia, pax provocata
Is the Emperor clothed?
Are these chains on our legs and wrists?
Are the Gates of Janes open or closed?
Can our freedom be risked?
pax corrupta, pax finita
Victory – not in legions and fleets
But dressed in plainclothes – sees
Fields of roses flung at their feet
On the march toward liberty
Chekhov / Jillian Humphrey
God is the deer,
not the gun.
Sometimes during a bad sermon
you’ll start to believe
otherwise.
You’ll start to believe
God is taking aim,
but God sees with doe eyes.
God is soft and wild,
quiet, panting,
stepping through the forest
in the cool of the day,
listening for you,
chewing leaves.
SHOULDER (3) / Shane Moran
Somehow I don't see or
Hate you even if we’re in the same
Old War that I lied you into
Unusual, we cross - faced dolls in our own
Loud capturing of each other’s LONELY soul.
Don’t tell me you miss
Eating the worms out the red
Rock mud. Read my lips and don’t understand.
Atlas / Christina Vagenius
There’s an atlas of memories —
signed away days, dog-eared promises
to return, the white lie waves.
Islands off the coast of neglect
beaches sunk in sentimentality
stir hope inside motes –
dangle the last knot. A handcuffed
heart builds castles for currency, drowned
by
an inch
of approval.
There’s an atlas somewhere —
the key inviting courage, each
dotted line creek to descend.
A train’s wheel rescues the maiden
on the tracks, screams for her escape
from a rope already u n t i e d.
And a lake at the edge of the page
where the road turns to path —
Where footprints from our past
lay the map at your feet, quietly invite
the sun to your cheeks
I’ll take you there.
Diaper Bag / Sonya Wohletz
After Maura Dooley
Come rummage with me through my bag of tricks!
Start with the obvious:
Diapers (of course) not enough wet wipes a few band-aids
My wallet (thank god) wait….
My wallet is here, right? (sigh of relief)
No more than $1 OK maybe also 7 cents & 5 TK lira
Charge chord lip gloss (watermelon) several pens with the lids missing
A post card I’ve been meaning to send to Jessie
Questionable pieces of chocolate rainbow stickers
A few loose Legos marbles rubber bands sunscreen
Matchbox cars clean underwear (for me, in case you are curious)
B r o k e n c r a y o n s
Holograph image of Our Lady Sasquatch
<She hides behind the playground equipment stalks around the grocery aisles with me
collecting receipts and crumpling
Them into my bag when I am not looking
We both need deodorant
And hand sanitizer that, too, has leaked out all over>
Here it is: the needed water bottle
…also with the lid missing
Rosewater in a spray bottle (fancy!) tampons hair ties
Folded pamphlet to help prepare for confession
10 commandments to match 10 beatitudes
To match 10 years of silence
Contrition aspirations novena to la virgen Ayat al-Kursi
Prayer for the girl who made this Amin and Amen
Nazar nazar nazar
School photos a drawing of a maze or a cat
Two notebooks one, which I keep promising to use for budgeting (and keep failing)
The other to write down phrases before I forget them
Miss Cleo Tarot Deck Q-tips protein bar
Children’s Museum flyers cat mask (?)
Loose gum trampoline socks! Squishy slimy thing not gonna think about
Breast pads to sop the milk lanolin to smooth my folding
body
Folding into the soft floral pattern of the bag this bag
That gets more oohs and ahhs than any accessory I’ve ever owned
Oh, I collect the compliments too they swim in
The shallows before the bag fractals into a fumarole
At the bottom of a protean sea where I am needing for
One last thing:
A lighter
No cigarettes
But I’m still rummaging
