i didn't love because it didn't love

we hardly even knew each other

and that was the glue

      stuck us together

kept us on the ground

while the peaches are in season

the trees just in reach

there’s little left to do

            but teach

i won’t let anyone hurt the pearl

the laudanum

      the mild form of the wild world

none of us

and none of this

      will make amends

let’s not be friends

   let’s not be trite

did you hear the truth song

                                the one by the giant

   ninety three

the more fool   i

it’s an estimate

            of what it’ll be

what you’ll see

in the land of cotton

where old times are

      all but forgotten

palm trees and sunshine

the basis of every story

from the gulf

      but smaller   seven

left to fend for himself

the aristocrat

            the girl

it’s easy to tell the stories

if you don’t let the truth

get in the way

make it a blue dress

make it so there’s

no need to confess

so there’s nothing to regret

      on the shore

in eighty four

      at seventeen

said i didn’t love

because it didn’t love

   in the art class

elaine floyd

   said

what

      said

   how

she was a hippie then

but she’s

      a hypocrite

now

for the contrarian

making the whole process

more complicated than it has to be

no-body would disagree

it matters not

how good you are

what good you do

or does it

is the final measure

more than cronbach’s alpha

more than just seeing

if the same answer

can be had again

are any answers

sacred

is any

          thing

   say

      cred

      sake

   read

for goodness sake

       for pete’s sake

my sake

   for me

what about that

years speeding up

only to slow down

in libraries

and on dirt roads

in locker rooms

in your mother’s home

atop her piano

more for holding up

photographs

than stirring chords

or sweet songs

sing along

   sing

alone

none of this

and none of you

see

the sunset

was not meant for you

nor was it meant for

everyone else

stone stuck

staring at it

without the words

to make a stand

only word enough

to meet demands

of consumer culture

that coffee colored vulture

with a shaker to the right

a stolen glockenspiel in the center

                                                          its silver bars glimmering in the middle

   of it all

the glimmer

   is something you hear

and if you hear it well

   you can see it too

you can make it through the

   hoop

through the roof

   even

and if that’s not enough

to get you to stop calling me

      steven

   then i don’t know what else

i can do for you

                         friendo

   defend it

make a case

tell me why

you ended up in this place

and why you feel such a strong want

   to heal the hate

to set it straight

   from out of state

the harm’s long gone

don’t you know that son

don’t you forget what we told

you when we said that

we know what the color yellow

   is

what the color yellow

   was

what the worth of work depends upon

when we sat on the back bumpers of fords

      always more than one

and just wanted to play golf

before we went back to work

before we came home

from the moon

or from utah

where god only knows what happened

and what that meant

the port in the storm

called itself arthur

but you always said

   ‘author’ like it was writing

our story

from the gulf coast

   ankle deep in crude

            strike broke

didn’t seem right to me

at the time

doesn’t seem any more right

now

despite my red subaru

and three green semesters

for the contrarian

the septuagenarian

   who tricked me

every day of the week

 *leaf cutting by Hillary Waters Fayle

http://hillaryfayle.wordpress.com/

the depression is not significant

watching the light die

 listening to dogs fight

just north   of the good side

                                 of those tracks

where the cops walk fast

                                                   when they pass

you can see the station from here

                     if that lightens your fear

       or straightens her hair

                    when the first snow comes

stir            son

don’t have enough to pay the rent

                but the depression is not         significant

           ask her man      she’ll tell you that

we’ll wait for it

         want to know you haven’t ignored it

     her eyes say something like   hypocrite

                                or    predator

              they don’t say editor

and they damn sure ain’t keeping score

you can count

      one to four

      add it up

if you must

             the birds are singing

so it’s time to go to sleep

take the crosses from your hands

            and lay them at my feet

everything that you borrowed

            every little bit i stole

if the fan makes wind

            then time’s been told

how to set fires with electric timers

how to set fires with electric timers

·      if a tree falls

·      eco terrorist movement

·      the fuck of it all

·      what can you do

·      what should you do

·      what will you do

·      we already lost

·      the bums lost

·      but i love the bums

·      the bums are the best

·      fuck all the rest

·      but

·      without the rest

·      who will run credit cards

·      and engineer hiking boots

·      who will love last

·      who will hide truth

·      which makes it so pretty

·      and rare to find

·      deep in the day

·      of dark the night

·      they count revolution

·      as too much for us

·      that we won’t get there

·      or go dust to dust

·      that comfort creed

·      creativity

·      is far too important

·      we’ll leave them with greed

·      and the power to makes us

·      all do the high step

·      from dawn to dawn

·      birth to death

·      and private rebellion

·      in apartments    in color

·      take out the fervent

·      need to discover

·      what really is best

·      for most things concerned

·      which lessons were missed

·      which ones got learned

·      the bell in my head

·      won’t stop going off

·      but decision fatigue

·      is slow now   and soft

·      and pretty girl’s smiles

·      are all i can dream of

·      even for a minute

·      a hurried look

·      and a hug

·      a worried look

·      and a shrug

·      to depart

·      no time to stop hearts

·      and no   it didn’t hurt

·      i trust you

·      the whole way

·      but that doesn’t mean

·      i can keep your schedule straight

·      you condescend

·      but waiting won’t matter

·      we’ll see in the end

·      watch small change ripple

·      like the sun over trees

·      learn the lessons of earth

·      in the lessons of need

·      take the time to decide

·      but then follow through

·      i would go it alone

·      were it not for you