the way things disappear
here, there is something like humidity
descending against the lake,
bass snapping at mayflies
and a duck wings easily,
low to the surface, splashes down
with a spray of water.

the only purpose for the duck
is to make noise
over the bullfrogs. i need
another sound, a crash sound.
there are certain things
that scare me. waterfalls. black night
windows and the […]

Mango
I bought a mango
from the market
in the Strip district
where the leaves
are half on the ground
and half in the trees
and the street is potholed and almost frozen
and I cut it
like you showed me
back in our Phoenix apartment
on Camelback Avenue
not quite in half
I slipped the blade
around the tough flesh seed
then scored the halves
and turned them inside out
like […]

The Attic Closet
Stand on the rocker and pull
at the latch: inside this cedar closet,
there is another: behind black watch plaid skirts—
school uniforms you have grown out of—
there is a brass-latched door. Slide the lock.
Red-winged Blackbirds from the marsh
out to feed—the shiny, black bird,
red on his shoulders, yellow tinge,
and the female like a large, striped […]