Author Archives: Zak

a pair of simple
earrings. a disc of
inexpensive silver,
soldered to a single post.
made by hand
on a damp patch
of green earth.

not so much
extractive, but
consumptive. less
so a symbiosis, than
a parasitism.

lithium orotate
in case you are
over-activated.
inositol
in case you cannot
fall asleep.

a bird in a box. oil
blue bird. sea
black bird. a bird
on flat top of short
pole. eight foot
pole. eleven foot
pole. round pole flattened
on top. you talk
softly to the bird,

you may
remark, to
yourself, maybe,
maybe to your others,
any others,
you may remark,
“i have drifted”.

reduce the milligrams. give back
the milligrams. titrate. pull
the cotton from the mouth. the cotton
dissolves in the mouth, the mouth
again with the metal. with the wood.

finally
fix the sink,
so many months, even
years, after
its break.

they say, “we
are in love
now”. you
say, “i must
guard my heart”.

broad smile, blonde
beard. capacity for
kathmandu. capacity

the next
morning, the next
morning sun

a virtual
stranger. i know
enough
to know
the name.
enough
to stop,

two small sea birds
in a catastrophe
of perfect plumage.

straight backed
on a wooden bench.
it is very quiet.

it is not
an anti-depressant.
it is
an anti-seizure.

the coffee tastes
like grapefruit. tastes
like green hay.

twenty eight ravens all
lined up on a railing.
their presence,
a making sense.

no idea
what the hand is
doing.
the turn signal
is on. you
notice the turn signal
is on.

oil slick bird
ten feet above gray
eyed concrete on a matte
brown pole making
sound like falling
water.

even though it’s not
cold enough, i am
still going to wear
this scarf
today.
no one is stopping
me.

alone
in a vessel.

you noticed her
when she arrived.
you did not look directly
at her. then,
you looked directly
at her.

the rain is quick
now on the heels
of snow.

the bathroom, tiny
bathroom, fiberglass
bathroom, quarter inch
bathroom. no bath.

a strange mixture
of mostly naked
and digitally manipulated
bodies, violence
of varying degrees
of intent (both

this is how
i look. i smile
when the camera points
at me, smile
when i pass others on the street.