OWNED

i wear dogs 

like blankets, human-
spooning canines soothing
their addled puppy soul
by climbing inside mine.

JUST FOR THE MOMENT

you joked: there ought to be

a record, "what's it all about, alkie?"

that would be funny, if only

records still existed

and your liver could take a joke.

and if only you weren't

still wishing for the burn and tickle

of cheap whiskey, some memory of fumbling

at brand new bra clasps, 

removing whatever got in 

your way, without thinking

what comes next or needing

to feel blessed.

VISITATION

death and funerals
break down

the illusion
we might live
forever.

crying arises from
saying goodbye

and also because
we fear

we haven't been
fully here.

YOU WERE THE LATTER (for Jack Erwin)

there are people
you will know
your whole life
and never truly
meet. and then
there are people
you meet
one time
and know forever.

WHY NOT

loosen up everything:
your clothes
your pose
that face
you froze.

let life's wonder
wander across
every feeling,
every place
inside and outside
your personal
space.

feel the slack as you
take your life back.

OH TO GIVE UP (for Steve Jobs)

oh to give up
selling anything --
to live without

being possessed
by pretense,
driven by processes,

acting for reasons
less than wonder
and reverence: oh

to let this life fit me fully
like a favorite t-shirt,
soft and holy.