While shoe box to shoe box travels my childhood
Professionals roll garbage cans around a conference room
Half the size of a holding tank
Half the hope of a holding tank
Full of third world retail flattery
“nothing wrong with the blind leading the blind,”
we think they just said
the entire train station crouches behind a piano player
and why should Harlem not kill for its musicians
“He is in a dream”
“A spirit world”
“I should introduce myself”
“And convince him to sleep”
porcelain epoch
succeeding for the most part
dying for the most part
married for the most part to its death
when a hostage has a hostage
that is u.s. education
stores detach their heads
and expect you to do the same when you enter
God says, “do not trust me in this room”
Two fascists walk into a bar
One says, “let’s make a baby.”
The other says, “let’s make three . . . and let the first one eat the other two.”
your sky or mine
read from
the book of pool room enemies
“I’m the best kind of square. Poor and in love with the 1960s. The first picture I ever saw in my life faded from
my storytelling a long time ago.”
Not even ten years old
And most of you are on my shoulders
The store’s detached head smiled
casually be poor
teach yourself
how to get out of this room
and we’ll leave you enough blood
to turn off the lights
on your way out
casually be poor
they are all cops when you are poor
