while listening to cutlery chatter / trading pennies for minutes / fielding
runaways / phoning an estranged neighbor / one shoe on / shoulder
to bolder with strangers / atop mystery mountains / beneath bleachers /
beside unnamed gas station signs / pumping the backstroke / sipping
tea on ice / scaling questions / smoking turkey legs / whispering
strong verbs / dropping pennies into juke boxes / on hands wrapped
around childhood's knee / chins up / guards down / of lemon slices
in sugary drinks / punches spiked of dragon fruit and butterfly
wings / belting bird song / stitching hummingbird hashtags / in flannel
evening gowns / streaming Beethoven’s fifth / taking the fifth /
consuming reality TV / no artificial sweeteners / watching Coke
wrestle Pepsi in a boxing ring / no rings in fingers / rings on lobes /
dressed in layers of recycled bloomers / pressing remote-controlled
buttons / unbuttoned / unaddressed / in torn silks and
unadulterated silence
of Alka Seltzer fizz and Cheeze wonder whiz / with cherry
marmalade on Wonder / flanked of generational flannels / clothed
in piranhas playing tubas and elephant truths / naked / dressed in naked
wishes / layered of love sewn of leather and knee-high boots / of lavender
scented kisses / broken, sipping soup from floral dishes / with fish
out of water / swimming butterflies in shallow ponds / in deep
/ deep in love’s rebus / before a judge of saints / wet of purple rain /
in wrinkle-resistant tiaras / of organ chords and tenor runs / on the run /
on a corduroy sofa / fashioned of plaid patches on elbows / fastened
of polka-dot bows / tied to no one / tired / fascinated / no hatred /
beside ghosts who dare to breath / beneath a sky dusted
of backdoor smoke and bathroom mirrors / sharpening
second chances / calculating time’s dimensions / wandering
through Alice’s wonderland / with a pocket full of honesty /
trading retired coins that are still official currency / drinking books
like medicine’s bounty / playing poker with pirates / vaccinating bites
and bouts of dishonesty / of freedom to toss wishes into egg soufflés /
of heads, we win, tails, no one loses games / of champagne
in flute-stemmed glasses / weighted of wisdom / consuming
curiosity / inhale / beholden to memory’s fortune / long enough /
long enough to remember /
the joy of being human / of freedom /
of the currency of a revolution / again / again / again
the ball drops--
beside me, the dog’s ears
twitch then settle, a new year,
the same routine