you went to the post
office on tuesday to
estimate the number of
stamps it would take
to bring out all the
crazies. waiting in
a nine yard line, you
weighed the clever
dose of extra
patience injected
into the service system
since the one-cent-
increase went into
effect. you calculated
the exact difference
between the volume
coming from the
confusion and that of
the faithful postman.
the line squirmed, and
you stepped up to receive
your holy penny
.
20080514:0959
y

it’s past four a.m., and the family
of seven is out on the front
stoop, firing up
the same broken
pieces again. it’s a no-brainer –
they will end up calling
the police on each other
and the hoarse
lady of the house will be held
accountable during the final
showdown. amidst wailing
arrests, her four daughters
will not balk, and the youngest
toddler will hold tightly
to a free hand and learn –
here starts the sirens
.
20080511:0444
y

.
20080507:1700
y

.
20080506:1647
y

in the packed train this
morning, you – young
thing – had a seat, bent
scribbling in long hand
and covering the words
as you went. i stood
over you and held on
to your transpiring
admission of love and
having-never-felt-this-
out-of-control-before

due to an earlier incident,
a fifteen-minute-ride turned
into forty-five as i stood
cramped and aging

for you, on the other hand,
forty-five turned into fifteen
seconds – with the train doors
sliding open at union square
and you jumping up and out
before finishing your
epic confession

and years later, only i
will remember what you felt
because you started your
smoke signals with
please destroy – out of
embarrassment
.
20080505:1645
y

i know you see them
they add up
not just one or two
sitting by an old wooden
post as you say but
hundreds of thousands
cornered

their families are split –
half of the children with
the other half without
papers; there are less
and less happy
reunions; and these days
the stakes are raised
higher, like the fence
upon which only
ignorance rests
judging comfortably
.
20080502:1611
y

.
20080501:1700
y