…sorry

gazing up, or at,
or in anything but the
objet d’farce

more attention is
paid to the magnitude
of victorious blue flinty sparks

this lightning, divining from
portholes that show
no soul, no velvet

this battle has been
lost, but the
war was decided long before

…okay?

Chinese checker smile
triangulating advantage
another round–I’ll buy.

an accusatory lower lip
accomplice to cigarettes
and dives off moral cliffs

purchase is fumbled for
on which the slightest excuse
could rest tenuously

a measured inhale
terse and dispensing, and
the corner has been rounded

…mad?

fuck.

after careful review of your
qualifications we would like to
offer you an
exciting career opportunity
in a growing field

you fucking loser.

welcome to round fifteen

the bell rings
its liar’s laugh…

but who’s counting?

© Tom Watters  4/19/06

amber columns strain through
cigarette-stained curtains, the
patina reminiscent of a faded
kodacolor print from the seventies
the aquamarine glow and
drone of some re-run
cutting laser shows across

I
am not alone

I own the procrastination of
a spring lawn that grew a
for sale sign between two idyllic trees
commerce was stopped at the brink
my agent misses ME
her Mercedes purrs in lust she
sends thank-you cards with alacrity

I
am a social butterfly

even though I check my pulse
I cannot compete with the
death/glory/immortality of the
faces that could be/should be/might be
I am a place-mark, a bent page
an English car on US freeways
no moss on the passenger seat

I
am in demand

another 11th day–another sunset
boulevard-strip-grill-beach

second.

© Tom Watters  4/11/06

lips pursed on the car ride over
your car
not his

tracing the pane of glass, cool
to the touch
playing with the beads of rain
formed in the foreground
the halo of condensation
accepting the union of
my heat, and the bleak playground
under the tips of my fingers

Im almost never the passenger

but this
has never been
about driving

upon arrival I repose
in the green room
the room in which
my heart grew up

so fast
so sure
so convinced

this house where you sleep
is his

from window panes
that undulate fog
in the rhythm of my timid exhalations
there is a taxidermist building
standing in defiance
of the apartments and rental housing
metaphoric and defunct, done creating trophies
what am I doing in love here?

I saw his shirt on the ironing board

clearly this
has never
been
about driving

at least not
in any
direction

Im a dead man
I am

© Tom Watters  4/8/06

turning the key
the symbol of modern virility
its tumblers were supposed to ground you, make
you somehow more appealing
like a strong jaw-line

it has become an occupation, a charge
a bottomless mirror of what is missing
a desire to placate inanimate masters
to bring to its softer places
simple joy …simple

rain shows up as static distraction
reducing gravity to the current distant port
as wireless wisps of goodbye breathe
open mouthed and loosely woven
the lock taps you on the shoulder

destination awaits with open arms
this stage entrance is turnkey
a world of finger sandwiches
mornings of hot tears away
the front door is weary

weary of the four-poster snacks
the ego, the silence
the technical commitment
its hinges are longing, and they groan
a beggar’s song

you stammer your promises
a fresh coat of paint
guilty roses at best
it awaits an eagerness—an anticipation
on both sides of its threshold

© Tom Watters  3/29/06