The girl in the yellow dress

snapped her fingers when she walked.

I thought she was deaf and clapping

to the glorious rhythms underfoot

but I think she was just a bit crazy.

–

The man with her didn’t seem to mind.

He looked like he’d escaped into the bank

vestibule, counting coins for penance.

When the inner voice

is a shrew,

and the feeling of

unrepentant malaise

encourages circling…

When walking is

a cacophony of body parts

in deep protest

against a mind so

befuddled, making life

more difficult and more vibrant

and making mistakes

with every step…

When burdens become

heavy like the alone,

there’s nothing left

and it’s frighteningly

simple to fade.

Sultry peepers

took over the night

and I opened

all I had

to take in the sound.

It was such a large earthworm, I wondered

if I could fry it and pass it off as dinner.

Would they notice?

After selecting tethered bananas

in a darkened produce aisle,

I tried to find milk of happiness

but tripped over a granola display

and cursed the penny thoughts

that led me to rub myself raw later.

(He is a bemused muse, that’s all I can say.)

When the rain slows down traffic

when it’s colder again

when I want a cookie or kiss

when I’m free and alive,

it’s time to go home.

Handling chicken parts, thinking of sacrifices

knowing both require a side of potatoes.

Will we be happy?

When one hole opens, a window closes

or something like that.