dirty dishes

first I saw the cat

& then the cat saw me

turned and flinched

then

felt unthreatened

once it saw my

face

.

bars are closed or

boarded up

&

streets are quiet

too

felt myself

become the cat

when

I felt threatened

too

.

for a second, & only

because I knew you

’d miss me

.

the river swallows

girls like me

every chance it gets.

we know

how strange it is

to leave home,

if only, for even

just a second.

…

odd

how slowly

seasons change

odd

how light does

too

.

strange how

empty carols hang

odd how

time does too

…..

back

in the old folks home

they’re watching jeopardy

with the old folks home,

seated, their faces blue

and nothing

moving

much tonight

& god I love the blue

& god I love the nothing

& god would love to kiss me

sitting alone, inside the curb,

streetlit,

dirty dishes

piling up

& Leah (who

loves to kiss

& tell) scrubbed

each one,

writing you,

top to bottom,

slowly clearing

the sink.

a yippy

dog just won’t stop

barking because

my placement is

strange.

...

I just don’t want

to check my phone

for the eighty-seventh

time today.