words lost in her stomach
waited impatiently
churning
she told herself
if they ever came up             
​she’d choke
so there, they stayed
30 years full

​
Cold morning couches
Trailed by buses to bricks
Step kickers  smoke grass
Yellow buzzing lights
Melt down  ochre walls
Mixing colors find plastic
Bouncing linoleum speaks up

Buying, Spending, Gathering
Bringing, Folding, Holding
Washing, Cleaning, Wiping
Laying, Standing, Hunching
Smearing buggers
Taping cuts
Crying, Laughing, Peeing
Building lunches
Packing feelings
Praying, Stretching
​Rehearsing lists

he was a mountain of a man     
women flirted even with
his daughters treading in his shadows       
men looked up but they had to       
he left his words outside     
if the girls looked close enough
​they could find bits and sew them into love

walkin'       slip        trip
shuffle by
cues left wayside
movin'        through fogs
of language
students' faces
pull inside         strings
mother          fucker