On Hearing
to hear pages flip in libraries
to hear the man cursing at the wind for being cold
to hear the ants marching, one-by-one, hurrah
to hear God to hear the woman at the counter say my order is ready
to hear the unintelligible strife of birds
to hear the space between myself and the bed where my father
lay like his body is a nightmare
to hear the wind in your bangs
to hear the neighbor’s dog at 2 am
to hear the ping pong slam on the table
to hear the awkward slosh of swollen limbs
like water balloons about to pop
to hear the laughter of my friends
to hear water fountains pool
to hear children fighting in the snow
to hear a touchdown
to hear water boil and steam rise
to hear the microwave hum
to hear the beep of the cremator
to hear lights flicker
to hear your heart in your ear
to hear the machinal song of a monitor who cannot care to care
to hear the start of the car engine and the twist of my key
to hear the hard exhale of doctor ask us if we would like to kill my father
to hear the silence in a room full of people
to hear joy between sobs
to hear Amazing Grace
to hear static.
Hope,
Comes like a freight train,
sparks flying,
never stopping to consider
that you did not want it there.
It will land on your shoulder
like a monarch
and infect you with the poison
that is its will.
It will rock you
on nights you cannot dream
and trick you
into believing it.
It will find you on your knees and demand:
LOOK AT ME
It will catch you in its net and scream:
YOU WILL KNOW ME
It will hand you the pill and say:
YOU WILL SWALLOW ME
It will seep into the crevice
that we call despair
and leave without a trace.
That Giant Hole in the Sky
if you told me
there was a giant hole in the sky,
gaping,
ready to suck us up,
before looking all up in the sky like
huh
i'd probably believe you
because there are just some things
you must accept
like
how you have 10 toes
accept that the sky will change its colors
because it can
and that you will never understand
how planes float so well
when it was just impossible
and that
you will never see yesterday
accept that,
yes,
someone fit an entire ocean into that seashell
and that you will never know why
you keep getting the hiccups
you must accept that washing your back is
difficult
and you will never do it well
accept that there are flowers
and
balloons
and
many different colors
in the sky
accept that you have
24 hours
and that is all