during my private time

in the bathroom

the ghosts keep trying

to break in

the road shouted warnings

in every language

I ask the man in the wall

to answer his phone

but the man in the wall

refuses

the only way out

was blocked by a child

pointing an enormous christmas tree

directly at my head

I eat half

and store the rest in my cheeks

for the long winter

waving hello to the taxi

as it drives towards me

waving goodbye to the taxi

as it drives away

as cars whiz by

the broken pedestrian signal

keeps ordering us to walk

as I pause to catch my breath

my feet call up

demanding a status report

amid the fireworks display

the big dipper

quite unnoticed

comes crashing down to earth

on the bow of the whaling ship

the puppy trots along

a harpoon gleaming in her mouth

pausing to take a picture

among the gonorrhea trees

pa rum pa pum pum

of snare drum

inside the bathroom fan

in the hallway

snoring

the elevator

I ride the bus home

clutching the ant farm to my chest

contemplating my next move

the pet alligator chases me

with a full grin of teeth

while it's owners assure me

he just wants to play

twitching in her sleep

first a forepaw

then hindpaw

then the nose

a man pretending to be a dog

a dog pretending to be a child

a child pretending to be a man

an infinite number of people

an infinite number of cameras

and the infinite sunset

I decide my position

is to let future me decide

in the decompression chamber

the pigeon coos

riding my ball

through the pinball machine

the soda can waited

between the two bins

unsure whether

it was recycling or trash

petting my cat

as my dog

pets me

the dilemma of deciding

between a long-term lease

or month to month

on my monkey

the sun purring

just below the horizon

holding a chicken carcass

in her mouth

the dog runs through the yard

trying to fly

I shake up the orange juice

and place it on the counter

but when I return with a glass

I find my baby there instead

cooing and sucking her thumb

stars starting up

in the machinery of night

after much whimpering

my dog clips the leash to my collar

and takes me out for a walk

the squirrel placed a leaf in each forepaw

pretending to be a tree

and when we arrived with ours chainsaws

he fell over yelling timber

the bucket and shovel

gossip among themselves

and occasionally look out

towards the wide expanse of sea