Version 1.Saved

say you're lost in water

pink rocks where waves simmer 
         deep rose when wet

water's so cold it burns your thighs
    the sand stirs, flares out

you can't quite see your feet
           bare and pale  
       thin as Christ's 

or say you're wearing boots
           black rubber, filling with water
                            dragging you down

say your lungs tighten in the freezing air
    shrink into pink popped balloons

say it starts to snow

or say you're at a party   
          in the deep end of the pool

in your bikini with the ruffles and the stars
          the birthmark 
on your left side
                like a meat-colored fig 

and say it's the moment the crickets start 
    a string of Japanese lanterns 
        vibrate in the breeze
                                
faces flash red and yellow
           in the deck chairs above you
and confetti 
        floats to your arms
         
           party candles crowd 
           the ceramic edges of the pool

say your ponytail catches fire and say 
you feel 
       a hand
            on the crown of your head 

say you go under and under


_____________

Version 2.

the deep end 


in your bikini with the ruffles and the stars

the moment the crickets start 
    a string of Japanese lanterns 
        vibrate in the breeze
                               
confetti 
        floats to your arms
         
           party candles crowd 
           their ceramic edges 

your ponytail catches fire 

       a hand
            on the crown of your head 

you go under and under

Hello. There. Been quiet for a while. (I will get to the tag quite soon, I promise.)

But life is good. I just had a great reading at my school, I sold 5 books, and everybody was wonderfully kind and laughed at the right spots. Plus, my tattoo got some shading! Finally! Next stop, color!



And a poemer!

A fresh one, from today! I love exclamations. I really do.

Love Song with Ambivalence

if only the alarm clock would stop working
if only these sheets were a different shade of green
if only you would fix your rotten bicuspid
if only the bread I bought yesterday were not moldy already
if only you could wash your hands more often
if only my breasts were of equal size
if only your penis smelled like violets

Yay!! (cartwheel, cartwheel)

MiPoesias just accepted my chapbook, Children Having Trouble with Meat!

I'm so amazed. Just very amazed. And then some more amazement, over here.

(It was the only one picked out of hundred -- I'm one percent!)

Early Milestones

A peanut shoved itself up my nose.

I went blind in one eye.

The cat scratched me when I chewed her tail.

My patent leather shoes got pee on them.

My father fell down the stairs.

I stuck my tongue in a socket.

I got lost in the attic.

My father told me I pushed him down the stairs.

Blue flames crawled out of the top of the black and white TV.

Grandmother came to visit and stayed in the room at the top of the stairs.

My brother peed on my teddy bear.

I stuck a fork in a socket.

Barbie’s toes got chewed off.

My mother made me give up my teddy bear.

The cat vomited butter all over the kitchen.

I tripped and lost my Christmas hat.

The pony moved slowly, warm against my bare legs,
led by a girl who watched my eyes and smiled.