drop the fire iron
you’ve been using
to poke holes
in your own left side
untie the noose
around your ankle
pour another glass
of water into the wine
goblet you recycled
16 years ago
let the commas go
free the letter O
from its own mouth
the river will live
on after the thaw raises
the stakes / punctuates
another river
and another taken
out of context
give up the negotiation
you’re no good
at it / find the perfect red
lacquer chair to build
your own cheerful forest
puddles bleed into puddles
till the night stills
either fizzy or flat
facts about erosion
not rhythm or rallies or robots / no
it’s religion
that threatens
to wreck the view
daggers overhead
masquerade as icicles
a fox with its teeth already sunk
into the hind leg
of a rabbit / forearms
of channels begin to tilt
one more ice jam
to force the creek
to flow backward
temperature whiplash again
the next meteotsunami
over Lake Michigan
bomb cyclones
and freezing fog
when green is no longer
a color
