Brendan McBreen

the strange sound
of cemetery crickets
an emptiness of sky
wind rustling distant trees
the open space
was not silent
and I felt offended
all the glossy plaques
flat against the ground
to make it easier
for the lawn mower
to just ride over everything
efficient
heartless
I wanted there to be monuments
stone angels
horses
crosses
even Hell
would be nice
this ridged ordered geometric
blank canvas of tidy green
was more off-putting
than the deceased
lurking
watching

A chameleon of days
Melting the ice in my tea
Condensation
Condescending
My every lavender move
Roses sparking forth a twilight of petals
And butterflies
Offerings for Venus flytrap hearts
Longing for maple syrup and astronauts
Ancient archeology mysteries unraveled by teachers
Plumbers fishing out jade bullion from clogged toilets
My burnt umber and cedar brown soul applauds wildly
Hysterically
A yappy dog that can never shut up
But despite it all
This blue August has passed me by
A trillion times
Me a bird of some sort
Hiding in the foliage of the fig tree
Waiting patiently for ripeness

buy a gun
learn to speak Swedish
take up knitting
and racquetball
get a job
pay bills
take up hula dancing
get a rabbit
name it Stewart
paint your garage
buy zombie insurance
watch the sun set
find a neat-looking rock
order a pizza
pet a stray cat
learn to use chopsticks
plant an onion
sell the gun
buy a hat

the grapes
were bursting
on the vine

meanwhile

I got up
to stretch
and broke
two fingers
in the fan

meanwhile

Italy invaded Pakistan
but they agreed
to pause the war
during the World Cup

meanwhile

a dog was digging up
unusual bones
I didn’t know
were underneath my garden

meanwhile

the two Saints
agreed to split a Sunday

meanwhile

it grew dark out
and cold

the edge of the world islands
where the ocean waterfalls
into a river below
our kingdom is there

I am looking through all the cupboards
just to see what is there

high
I worry
they are all judging me
or I am actually
talking out loud
doing something embarrassing
but not realizing it

the stuffed animals
walk around and talk
but that’s normal

wait!

I’m not high

I’m dreaming

does this mean
the rose thorn unicorns
the blue Great Dane
the horse-sized tabby cat
and the creepy giant wasp
aren’t real…

damn

sometimes
squirrels
teleport entire vending machines
into holes in willows
all the while
acting innocent
no one wants to confront them
who knows where
you’d end up

slow

deliberate

move

as

a cypress

grows

then chant
ten times

all
the names

you wished for

as a child