Dressed to Kill

From a distance, the well-dressed 

Man approaching was an unknown— 

As he came closer, I couldn’t believe he was 

That shepherd in galoshes I saw 

Each morning hard at work at his stable, 

Up to his knees in mud and manure. 

Holy shit—this man now walking 

The streets looked so unbelievably 

Clean-cut and innocent he looked 

Just like one of us, 

A sheep in wolves’ clothing. 

Doppelgänger Ascendent

So far, so good but 

There's one thing I have to tell you 

Before I leave the summit— 

You’re going down with me. 

Trying to Find the Right Word

No— 

In the bureau of the abandoned, 

Stark is not the word 

For these photographs, 

Stark is never 

Stark enough. 

A Found Poem: When I Was Twenty-three

—for Elisabeth, whose words I found to be wise beyond age 

Back then, I felt nothing 

Like what the doctor had ordered. 

Strange 

How perception can change 

Over time, and not so bad 

My younger self, I think now, 

But as I say that’s not how 

I thought then—ugly 

I thought then, sad 

To remember that 

Perception now but better 

Than nothing feeling nothing again. 

Psst!

Damn you, ham 

Actor forever 

Forgetting your cues 

For the last time, 

The world is not your oyster— 

Now, spit it out 

And get off the stage.