dig

the beetle whispers

but I tell him

I already began digging

hundreds of years ago

parrots steaming in the pot

he ate to fill an emptiness

smaller than a sandwich

like teeth in a dream 

his penis kept falling

out of his fly

looking for a good time

we strummed the ukulele

but every song it played

was of cicadas and death

the candy hearts

slightly chipped

inside the plastic bag

never did find

somebody to love

the spider opens its mouth

for the baby to crawl inside

I pull on the handle

of the god machine

but its doors are rusted shut

we sit down in the fluoride seats

and take the dentist's office for a drive

inside the cupboard

comes a hungry answer

warming up
beside the fire music

I squeeze the guinea pig

mistaking her for a squeak toy

but she plays along

and squeaks anyways

I catch my glasses before they tumble

from the bridge of my nose

another escape plan foiled

what's your story

I ask the bird

but it just hops away

quietly bobbling its head

for safekeeping

I lock the baby

in the glove compartment

displaced by the war

my poem wanders the camp

with nothing to his name

except the endless days ahead

his dark breath

is a song that drags

the crackling ball and chain

when I close my eyes

the ant says hello

they call out

you can exit the labyrinth now

I call back

give me a few minutes

life suddenly punctuated

by another

desperate

exclamation

an uneasiness

woven in the crowcarpet

they popped his head open
like a cookie jar
but instead of cookies

they only found a brain

for his next trick

he raised the slightest corner

of his left eyebrow

on the photocopy

a piece of hair

that can never be wiped off

they loaded their

cart with snow

and went off to market

before singing his libretto

the weimaraner

ran through a few scales 

in your arms

with my rubber fish

our hands searched

the screaming child's back

for the circuit breaker

before setting out

to cross the room

I stop for a smoke break

the dogs descend upon

the hospital for the blind

barking out demands