PLAYING POSSUM
aung san suu kyi growls see u in hell
roomful of poets saying every angel is terrifying
would sell u gold or fight ur personal-injury case
overlook ur tortious interference
dreaming u sliced someone u didn’t like
clean in half w/ a sword
it was nelly furtado
wiped w/ a cloth
a friend of mine likes to quote this thing abt
ppl who r beautiful & know it & bestow it
upon others like a gift
i’ve realized it means exactly the same as
“ my presence is a present ”
look past ur chopt salad
part of what distressed me so much abt him
was that he had his walls up
that he missed out on what unconditional love meant
it was less abt reciprocity & whether he liked me back
i just worried that he didn’t believe
someone could genuinely love him
i think often of prince’s claim
“ i’m not saying i’m great, but i’m an alternative ”
is it a big burn to say, of a poet
x does the same thing but x does it better
is it too late to fuss
the marijuana feline
coke spoon & poems on nightstand
blondie yawns, stretches
does biweekly mean twice a week
or once every two weeks
i always thought that stonewall
referred to stonewall jackson
swollen as a milk cow
shepherd leading his flock
boy-men angel investors
boy-models singing songs for wystan
baldwin sipping virgin sodas
martin luther queen swishing his hips
sawhorses posing no obstacle
don’t mind us, as she squeezes by
SLIP IT IN FAMILY MAN
i care for u v v much
i wanted to be honest abt that
“ do u have the stuff ”
this is where i belong
who’s to say
this dangling dong
would not meet my strict requirements
my first muse was jon, full name “ johnathan ”
spelled exactly like that
oh the spelling was truly criminal
but listen to this
cantopop king aaron kwok
has 4 racehorses named after his songs:
“ dancing code ”
“ calling with love ”
“ dancing fighter ”
“ my favorite ”
[i can see which his favorite is]
my copy of lunch poems, white orange & blue
which side were u fighting on ???
rich american tourists
holster ur bazookas
[frank preferred missile]
help urself to the tips collected during our shift
his mother is still alive
just barely destroyed
i heard that there were seamstresses
frozen in place
a dollar for the jukebox
concertina wire at the clavicle
i brought his mother back to life
long tongue flapping in the wind
just hanging out
i brought his mother back to life
GAG ORDER
the rat-boys from the chelsea projects
collect teeth knocked from the president’s mouth
genuinely-concerned nancy reagan approaches the genius bar to ask
if they’re all geniuses why they’re working at a store
—a scarcity mindset ???
having just run a marathon
the tourist decided to have her foot ripped off by a shark
stranded on east 10th & 1st
leaving the half-hearted sonnets at home
alongside a glimmer of recognition
i can’t waste on u
greco coffee cup blessed by capote
who said scorsese was “a big nothing”
as catwoman took off in a cemetery in queens
overturning headstones we hear great news
stopping by marche madison for overpriced couscous
ambling across central park
scenes familiar to any new yorker
he was a great boss b/c he would tell her to dress better
that seems more attractive
than traversing the hills of san francisco
when my back’s aching my bra’s too tight
ur sweating so indulgently ur shirt is truthful
finally allowing me to see the forbidden
city emptying for a holiday weekend
i hate beautiful days when they’re not w/ u
NEW YORK CITY COPS
***
Author photograph courtesy of Michael Chang
