clearance

before its proud
wristwatch award ceremony,
an inward sigh resigned
today—or was it even
this weak

this burden of mirth
traveled to a different
host city
leaving behind
a bar
and various churches

I opened my palm
for a glimpse at what
was held so dear
below my heartline

my eyes met
the powdery imprint
of a gypsy moth’s wing
samsonite beige
and
fashionless

felt wind
in the holes left behind
dull and hollow
a television test pattern
the volume
fluctuating slightly
to no earthly rhythm

newsprint yellowed
a crust forms
on my lower lashes
sentimental value
becomes an oxymoron
keepsakes become
the music of clutter

I hear
gunshot taiko drums
in the dead reverberation
of new falling snow
cold dry
cracking

statues topple
off the edges of
gilt-lily pedestals
and bears see
that they are not
gazelles
nor cheetahs

they are bears

tawmnation