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1. |
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I am eating a yellow cupcake.
The wind is swinging the noisy garden
gate open and shut and open again.
I roll the dusty dust
off two ceramic ducks.
You sparkle.
Your squinty expression. Your
eyes, I mean. The squinty sun.
You rub charcoal.
The scrub brush.
I touched the chicken string, the
paper sleeve. I rolled my cuffs.
Continued on Page 27.
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2. |
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3. |
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gray
the loose face
wringing the stone towel
words crumple
whimpering bawl
blurry romantic murmur
what fuzzy snapshot
the frank testimonial snuffed
the stinking candle
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4. |
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Dinsmore Store
(poem by Noah Marmalefsky)
The kid with the crooked teeth
His dad the hunter
Laundry machine full of weed
Am 1 1/2 hours to an It's-It
A broken tundra
A hangover Sunday
Dinner invitation
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5. |
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When happy
face holds the
door, holds it
fast,
my clammy
hand under-
stands what's it
for.
When Happy
Hour grips the
mood in its
claw,
my lonely brain
brain in the
underground
sky.
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6. |
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pink roses in a glass vase
bones flushing slick turnstiles
powder shimmer in the jewel tone
opens peeling black mold phonebook
cradling the canary yellow purse
the raspberry clutch
garbage juice breadcrumbs zigzag
sloshing over staircase landings
jacuzzi bubbles rinsing clear
real incandescent leisure
faces weeping pox riddled
wild rushes wind-drenched bangs
one lonely sneaker earwigs crawl in
stoked cinders hug love handles
wrinkled cobweb can nestled
basement eaves soggy niche
ceramic figures nestled
lush dewy weed lawn
steaming compost good intentions
vermin licking convex egg shells
scented pillows soft tower
hanging flypaper spilling flies
falling fuchsia petals drifting
cow lick tangle knots the sand wasp
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7. |
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Plastic bags of shrimp spill open.
Did golden arches shine, shine right back?
Chew your cheeks and spit saliva.
We go, go away, shake, rattle.
This soil smells like campfire smoke.
Someone is looking, looking for me.
Change the ring, the ring on your phone.
Your ringtone was ringing in my ear.
I saw the plastic fasten cotton.
I saw in the pocket in the coat.
I saw through the tinted window -
stars in blackwater
who stumble across.
This song is unemotional.
Forest shadows slowly creep to me.
Forest officers stay away.
Forest detritus loves the loveseat.
I disregarded cool, clear water.
I was in the water in a boat.
My favorite stagnant water froze.
Now the nights are hot.
I sweat my rouge off.
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8. |
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Said they didn't know
No one told the story straight
When the bag unzipped
With the wrong leather blade
You could never know
No one stuck around to see
When the howl escaped
From the canvas room
In the new growth green
You could have it all
You told me so
Golden flowers
Dim your eyes
Hugs the gravel road
The road so raw
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9. |
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when I am
a liar
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10. |
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Dirt is alive.
All the bugs
eat our fat
after we're gone.
Five years look for me
in a tree,
astride an amber escalator.
The cat will mew.
This is Yin Yang.
This is looking
in a mirror,
in a hologram sticker,
in every plastic acorn piggy bank,
where tiny pinecones jingle.
I saw hay bale straw
on a muddy County median
and beside the ornamental frogs -
a polyester watermelon flapping,
where golf cart spit
swaddles waxy wrappers.
This is bad and scary,
when wafting ammonia coughs,
when any wrinkled timebomb
can drool with impunity.
I saw the large red moon
regard the complacent can.
I saw the moonlight
absolve every tan line.
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11. |
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12. |
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13. |
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14. |
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radio
on gravois
next door on
arsenal
you listen
lime sticky
mickey mouse
sound the same
j. leslie
for always
walk clenching
radio
the world's fair
pavilion
can a child
god bless you
hear am
wrong country
j. leslie
for always
through the pain
in blue flames
recognize
metal can
I am like
so humid
playing games
run through you
can a child
god bless you
your bracelet
is empty
dial in
the number
does ring blame
trying out
to when you
got your keys
fall back on
ice mountain
same looking
real place smell
ocean is
scary I
you're bound to
my jungle
the world's fair
pavilion
radio
on gravois
listen eyes
crackle and
recognize
metal can
j. leslie
for always
I'm tired of
the tissue
j. leslie
for always
j. leslie
for always
mickey mouse
sound the same
a and gray
sentiment
listen eyes
crackle and
on always
avenue
waves crashing
will listen
fog that conch
so the stone
dial in
the number
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15. |
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released March 30, 2020