Sunday, December 30, 2012

Distraction in December

for Karla Treskow

Wide awake, outside

Smoking a cigarette,
Swearing to Jesus,
Wearing night
In her neighbor's backyard.
This isn't as funny when
Buildings glow in the dark.

A new dress on New Year's,
The strangest fucking safely tucked
In the basement too many nights
In a row.

She realizes good people want church,
Have heard American dinosaurs laughing.

She walks, hungry,
The gods waiting to delight in her.
The wind hints that ideas
Are cold this time of year.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

We Can Talk About Her Now


for Emily K. Proeber

Simply genius,

Her unnecessarily large words
Make people jump.
A tortoise sleeps in her windowsill.

Sitting on the couch by herself,
She miscalculates sickness and misses
The end of the world.


She looks for the Mayans,
Draws a white elephant
For a 2013 calendar.

This collective amnesia
Rattles her picture window.

All Milton, All the Time


for Milton Smith

This remark is a few days late.

He resembles Ghostbusters
And people I know.
He watches snow,
Doesn't recall traveling,
Discovering this bed.
He is such a bastard
But actually brilliant.

He can go away to audition,
Grab a script,
And respond to recent events.
He misses important messages and
Winter weather advisories.
He's done nothing but dream.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Where You Find Love


for Sara Thorlton

Only she holds an idea twice,

Everything spinning,
Astounded by direction.
A true mother, feeling orange,
Ready to choose between
Happy, free, confused and lonely.

Truly honest, sometimes
It can't be said

Because kisses and farts don't care
Where you find love.
And all those other people have no idea,
Blame it on getting lost.

This girl has sunburn in her eyes.
She will break you.
In her head, the best men
Move both today and tomorrow.
In her heart, she says
A perfectionist smiles with her hands.
Her six-year-old daughter's handwriting
Announces crazy laughter.

The Next Martha Stewart

for Ashley Carleton

She fries five million shallots 

And buys a wedding ring.
She squeals on a train
While wearing the wrong shoes.
She loves spending time with
An afternoon Christmas,
Expensive presents, beautiful music.
She feels public market tacos,
Avoids the bomb,
And honors the victims.

When China knows the national mood,
Only one man is capable of sharing
Wine with her at the art museum.
The rarest large mammal in the world
Provides nice scenery for their voting.

She gets Old Milwaukee breakfast for free
With good karma.
Her winning Whole Foods spirulina
Welcomes back a fatty soulmate
With Krispy Kremes.
This health freak couldn't find groceries.

Oh god, looking at the remnants of cookies,
She decides to give second chances.




Thursday, December 27, 2012

Epic Design Time


for Bryce Ulmer

For the past couple of years, he has loved
Official salad, different soup, super printers,
And Hanukkah contests, especially ones with
Epic design time.
He ate caloric intake and bought save-the-dates,
Spent morning quotes on wedding stationary.

Yesterday, things he made
Moved onto paper and envelopes:
Cool pictures for the printing.
New turbines got their first look
At portfolios, coloring gin and tonics.

Now he is going to be a veggie, getting quotes,
Shaping wrapped Twinkies with a
Wedding day monogram.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Stashing the Joy



In 1951, love dreams of having this year,
Entertaining witness protection,
Drinking with a friend.
But does anybody really have a good night?
Where does Rosemary stash the joy?

We aren't even going to be happy with Christmas.
If this “snow” keeps up, those who pray
Will make us pull over and cry.
The suffering is over.

This half-naked lady, a really cute montage,
Walked right into the lamp post.
Her ripped dress, silenced until tomorrow,
Looks like the Brothers Grimm.
Outside the house, she sleeps well,
Touched up by a snowy afternoon.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Top-Secret Christmas Mission



My day is off feeling morning,
Straightening weather data,
And warming a woman dismantled.
My stories about first-stop pre-ordered January
Tempt her excitement.

I might not be forgotten.

Today, the world fought bravely,
Epic time flossed conversations,
The theatre creased my thoughts.
The intensity of family feuds flashed
During the first week
Of me and my sisters going to Gurnee,
Missing mom riding along.

The top-secret Christmas mission,
An event bravely bitten,
Quit within twenty minutes.
Equal poems compare global fiction,
Short, planned nights.
Anybody stabbed with scissors
Knows this season.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Three Horrible Letters



When did you have black photos?
Before the wedding?

Terminal cancer has one week to propose.
Love happens now, in an attempt to be polite.

Several prints are sexy, the love of his life,
A sweet fiancée.
People stop, love this, vow to marry,
Comment on this image.

She isn’t done yet.
Important artwork
Before three horrible letters,
A future quest finally complete.