I'm gonna marry the night.
—Lady Gaga
(I know there’s a way to do this.)
—John Ashbery
Am I listening?
Am I listening
as the blood
boils hot be-
neath your
skin; your
blood is
wax?
Choc-
olate
lips to
open the
door with.
Fortune
cookies
to heal
your wounds.
Banana peels
(anti-inflammatory
proxy) to get
you from the
homeland
where
the sand
develops
a reaction
to your knees,
your knees
which have
become
cupcakes
of sand
with sand
for the icing
(a local coolant).
Do you under-
stand what I
am saying?
[CALMLY]
Come up
from below
the water and
breathe and
breathe.
Look up
to the sun
and speak
[SLOWLY]
and speak,
happy as the
translucent
fish who
greet
your
every
dive in-
to the deep
with reluct-
ant glee
and who
eagerly
await
your
departure.
