An Exercise

SYNTAX

Writing a poem is a piece of chocolate cake:

inside of each atom is a tiny stanza

waiting to greet us the way lemon juice caresses freshly brushed

teeth,

the way the scent of bread burning in the kitchen toggles one's nostrils,

the way waking up to find a bloody 5 dollar bill in the front

pocket of your pants tickles one's curiosity;

Travis and I spent the better

part of an hour staring at seals who

barked from the bottom of the Puget Sound -

but there were no seals in the water

that day and, if there had been,

they would not have been barking;

GILD MY LILY

writing a poem will never be anything

like eating cake,

there are 3 sides to every apartment

in all new Americas

and a specific meter for any and all

neutrons.