the raccoon staggers
across the lawn
in noonday sun
drunk on trash
juice & rum like
that time in 1989
when Joanie tossed
a fifth of Everclear
into the bonfire &
the heat-whomp
pushed us back
& two days later
I sobered up enough
to squint & crawl
home & think
𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬?

#badmicropoetry #poem

𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

there is no plan
beyond just this:
bees for honey,
flies for shit.

#badmicropoetry #poetry

no one prays
to the god of
sporks except
drunks at KFC
& even then the
slaw goes every-
where but home

#badmicropoetry #poetry

outskirts math

+
first fall morning:
driveway cat unfurls
beneath Ford F150

-
sauce, sauce, squirrel
Cadet Cub circles
battered apple trees

x
morning splits air
lawn gurgles sludge:
septic tank leakage

÷
across the creek
my father's razor
rusts in silence

#badmicropoetry #poems

someone is watching TV with the sound off & outside someone yells over the lawnmower prowling forth & back & the doorbell rings & the dog starts in when the knocking starts & maybe if I sit still they won't look through the window & see me, won't tap the glass or hold the bell until the ringing becomes unbearable but I can hold it a long time: I've been married forty years

#badmicropoetry #poetry

tree on roof:
squirrels scurry
as chainsaws growl

#badmicropoetry #poetry

The Trick Is (after Ellen Bass) to stop caring, to stop it even if you obsess over it and everything you've thought flutters away like a freed parakeet, the air swirling with the speed of it. When anger sits with you, an iron ball more fit for gym than stomach; when anger consumes you like flames in a crucible, an inferno of anger, you think, How can a country withstand this? And then you hold freedom like water cupped in your hands, precious water, holy water, live-giving, here, now, and you say yes, I will fight for you, you will slake my thirst, again.

#badmicropoetry #poetry

a drop of ink

spreads out
in a glass
of water;
a log rots
in the woods
& the universe
expands in
whatever
cradle rocks
the universe
to dreaming
while babies
sleep & light-
houses break
beneath waves,
salt drying on
so many cheeks.

#badmicropoetry #poetry

my third grade teacher
mrs. nelson was right
that nothing can
brighten your mood
like a good scratch-
n-sniff sticker so
maybe give one or
two to your local
neighborhood blow-
hard but not the
poop one because
jesus what kind of
message are you
trying to send?

#badmicropoetry #poetry

the rich these days
want a new gilded age
yet have nothing
but trailer-trash tastes
with dollar-store
bric-a-brac
spray painted gold
shoved in every
conceivable space
& their hearts are
as empty as the words
that they weave
building temples
at Narcissius' feet


#badmicropoetry #poetry #doggerel

yes the sunset
is beautiful but
so is dog shit
yet no one
likes my selfies


#badmicropoetry #poetry

437 IBM Way

there's a small house
in the code set, a soft
space to rest during
furious sessions where
you can shut the door
& breathe & perhaps nap
before the usual shady
characters drag you back
to work with bullets & clubs
& daggers saying type
faster dammit type faster

#badmicropoetry #poetry

_never let the bastards get you down_

from acres of processed bullshit
flowers burst wildly to blossom

#badmicropoetry #poetry

nuzzled by mist
the coyote trots
through 6 a.m.
intersections, tongue
dangling, panting
beneath a moon
indifferent as blue
Hyundais idling
at lights aching
to flash green
as deer amble
the high school
baseball field
& a jogger stops
to take note of
her twitching calf


#badmicropoetry #poetry

all these middle grade bastards
keep pushing the backwards
slide as if thwacking your head
in the stagnant pool at the end
was the coolest playground move

#badmicropoetry #poetry

third grade kiss

I remember
nothing but
the taste
of orange
tic-tacs over
chocolate milk,
not even
her name

#badmicropoetry #poetry

& there came among them
a great ignorance shrouding
wisdom & compassion &
& fear fell across the land
while cowards bent knees;
democracy died in darkness,
simpering in its last throes,
choking on lies & the egos
of small men wielding grudges
against a history they resent

#badmicropoetry #poetry

the last thing
I want to see
is 55 year old
versions of
high school
classmates
holding me
to account
for all those
years of jerk
ass remarks
& innuendo
because I'm
fatter now
& run slower
so keep your
evite in your
mailbox you
damn graying
cock strutters
& boa fluffers



#badmicropoetry #poetry

the foggy
thing wraps
tentacles
about your
feet & slithers
up to nuzzle
a knee & you
remember
the dentist
& stylist next
week & some
thing slides
around your
pelvis & you
shiver & say
not today but
do call again
sometime & for
weeks you feel
watched & forget
yet it waits

#badmicropoetry #poetry

you carve out a life
breath by breath
minute by minute
the marble scales
falling from your eyes
scattering footside
& you glance down
& say look at what
I built as if you held
the chisel & knew
what surprises lurked
beneath the stone

#badmicropoetry #poetry

all the vibes
have been vibed:
time to do the work

#badmicropoetry #notadvice

I've taken the shit
you left in the hall,
so much crap the curb
is full of you, your detritus
shining like aluminum foil
disguising dog turds,
an ex-lax doughnut
in an old office fridge
for the sweet prince
of the sales floor
who never learned
to dress rightly
for the part

#badmicropoetry #poetry

2 + 2 = 4 childhood chalkboards the car careens off cliff scent of peppermint faces pressed against shop window north wind swoops snow piles linger, lean in shack's shadow Northern Pacific tracks covered in snow drifts: breath clouds in air I exist between breaths the universe exhales: bees flit between blossoms #badmicropoetry #poetry

#badmicropoetry #poetry

your potential to do good
is proportional to your potential
to fuck shit up but who cares
about proportionality except
creatine freaks & doomsday
preppers & weak-willed
democrats in congress too
worried about their base
to wrest power from fascists?


#badmicropoetry #poetry #notreally

we drank beers
& pissed on rocks
outside Barstow to
celebrate the future
anniversary of your
death but you left town
so we missed you &
pissed for nothing but
at least it was a good ride


#badmicropoetry #poetry

the bro
ken road
side sneak
er goes no
where fast


#badmicropoetry #poetry

to be famous in poetry
is no mean feat: just
follow the right folks
& post pithy comments
while intermittently raging
at all the motherfucking
fascists ruining the world
including that guy who
cut in line at Starbucks
& people who walk cats
on a leash & bad drivers


#badmicropoetry #poetry

the streetlight flicks static
hums against the night &
the dog doesn't sniff odd
piles or wrappers for once
& the kid in the stroller drops
a bear & the mother's ass crack
says hello & the less I know
about things I do not know
the better the world will be


#badmicropoetry #poetry

the last
pecan roll
lurks in
the box
waiting
wanting
longing
for love
oh my
darling
you are
too sweet
& it is
too late
for such
seductions


#badmicropoetry #poetry

_advice_

every writer says
this worked for me
but they lie:
you must listen
for a hand open
in silence & the
buddha smiling
& only then
will you know


#badmicropoetry #poetry