I
The clanking cranking steel
hurls thru time zones laced with sheened pastures.
Thoughts and reminders
open flood gates into tunes past.
This cracked cd case resembles
a trembling landscape broken with rain.
Her open hands closed never let go
inside this the dizzy echoes of tomorrow.
II
Guts grapple for a will to eat
a sesame seed glued to a sesame bagel.
These coffee stained jeans
resemble lands recently escaped from.
With a splinter or two
found in the glass shards of too late
I wait here pointless with pints of an old man
privileged and hissing in his wet dreams
reflecting on an age of waste
where clocks and systems fail to communicate
recycled actions
passed down from countless stadium fights.
III
A numb sense of chaos
plagues worn out prayer .
On the platform a sparrow crunches a tick
held in a broken beak.
The grace of kicking rusting cans
helps divide an inner gaze
as a pack of blunt razors
waits to bleed these words dry.
The girl sitting too close
talks to her phone
selfies he notes
made in a mirror
never reflect
hidden outdated facts.
Sweat mingles with reminders
when acid rhythms walked through walls
all he can do fails to ignore her
asking if the idea to rhyme is a worn dying art.
IV
Lingering in her veins below blue shades
she smiles like an abandoned hangover
what is left of the shine on his boots they notice
matches the drying paint on their hands
Seems to be all cracking backwards he says
like a premonition slipping in whispers
Knowing miles traveled never dismiss
a need to unload texts
purple paint peels
knowing this is merely a cheap exercise
to compensate for passion
our purple paint peels
knowing another itch has scratched
into the dizzy echoes of tomorrow
we peel as bad news seems to be running free
for real this time.