by Allen Means
violations i commit against myself // in return for remembrance
i corpses // i forgiveness // i tend to the garden // i water it // i earth and unearth // its soil // i tend its flowers // even though one day it may be a construction site // a parking lot // or a sky scraper even though one day it may be // gone i // corpses // i forgiveness // i loiter // i collect broken bottles and turn them // i windchime // i looking glass // for my body // i keep my // own body // i
never anyone but this // graveyard // i never spring // only cut flowers // so i take stems // and hope sorry to the dirt // sorry for this body // and plant them.
colors we cannot name
the cashier at the grocery store asks me where i got the pepper spray on my keychain.
it's scary out there, she laughs.
i need one like that.
what a pretty blue.
i tuck its bright shell quietly into my palm.
i ask her if she is alright.
i tell her that the color is easier to see at night.
that it is brand new.
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