I scare a kid by sitting at her table,
and I hear you when I think at her
get out, you high school cafeteria geek.

You, the wild girl,
And I, with my headache relievers,

I want to whisper things
that no one would ever send in a text message,
not for profundity or profanity
but because they are too common
to read on a screen. 

B-58 of arrowhead wings,
master of time to climb to alabaster
atmosphere, your strength roared
to silent desert parking lot and cost
10 cups of gold. 

THE VENTRILOQUIST:
Uncertain era,
it tousles my hair,
wrinkles my bowtie
and insults my vest.
It tires a trouper.
Importunate age
disrespects verities,
superannuates props,
abuses the stage
and fatigues better arts.
I’m straining my teeth
to maintain levity.

I ate soup at four o’clock in the morning, cream of tomato,
at the table under the chandelier with one bulb burned out.

Faster and faster, a ring of Saturn
Built up from a thousand marquee lights
Spinning in unison
Approaching escape velocity
Creates a halo around my seat

Know what I want to do right now?
Play Mario Brothers on Super Nintendo
Be Mario, a real mustache Pete
With my foxtail, be high up in the forever blue sky
Flying around, collecting gold
Shooting fireballs out of my arm pits
Can heaven be as cool?

There were many others like myself
Though they went by different names 

When the flags began to fall
I looked for other flags to follow 

There were none 

11. The sex was not good.