Themes
No Difference
There was a boy with skin
as dark as the earth
& a girl with
eyes as blue as the deep
& they loved
each other so well
that people could
not tell
them apart,
for in their hearts,
there was
no difference
between them.
No Bite
this is a long line of teeth
that keep the dark at bay
& it works OK, but there’s
also no bite left in
anybody around here anymore
Night Eyes
at dark when all the eyes come out
Night Itself
He sneaked through the world like night itself
& never gave himself a chance to love.
Night Sailor
Sails about all night. It explains why I look like hell in the morning, she said.
No Attachment
this is a machine with no attachments whatsoever,
so it’s guaranteed to break down just when you think you need it most
New Start
We had neighbors once who never cleaned their house & left dishes in the sink & when there were no more dishes their dad would go out & buy another set of plastic dishes for $9.99 at Ben Franklin & one winter the house caught on fire & there were great piles of melted plastic everywhere & nothing could be saved & they moved to a new town with nothing but the clothes on their back & a new set of plastic dishes the church ladies gave them. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a new start.
Next Big Thing
On the lookout for
the next big thing
because it would solve
a lot of the problems
of having to deal
with the same old stuff.
Night Demons
When she played her music even the night demons stopped their work
& it took them some time to remember what it was they were doing
& the best of them had no stomach for it for a long time after that.
Native Hawaiians
We used to go visit my grandma on the train & on the way my sister & I would talk to people we met & tell them we were from Hawaii & could speak Polynesian & I’d hold up a 7-Up & say this is called puka-puka-wanini on the Big Island & we’d make up longer and longer names until it took about 10 minutes to say one & about that time we would be there & we’d say aloha & go off to have lunch at my grandma’s & my sister would hold up a Mrs. Paul’s fish stick & say in Hawaii they call these molo-molo-pooey-pooey & I’d try not to choke on my fruit punch.
Neighbors
When we lived in the city we used to leave the lights on
to keep away the burglars. Now we leave the lights off
to keep away the neighbors. My mom says it’s because
there’s always a chance we’ll like the burglars.
New Age
We’re already in the new age, she said.
What does that mean? I said. It means we
can stop waiting & start living, she said
but after she left, I still waited
a little while more just to be safe.
New Friend
I’m at that point in the day where I’m tired of myself, she said,
so if you don’t mind, I’m going to be someone else until bedtime
& we had a lovely time together, my new friend & I.
New Mirror
I need someone to invent a mirror that leaves out some of the details, she said.
New Places
She moved with the grace of a cat & her tongue licked at the corner of her lips & I’m sure she would have helped me if I could have said I am just a child & don’t know what to do, but I was just a child & didn’t know how to tell her about those new & raw places in my heart, so she stood there in the dim light with her hair like a cloud of perfume around her face & neither of us spoke & now I wish I could go back & hold her & say someday we will laugh & ache about this.
Mystery of the Universe
I had a teacher once who said the greatest mystery of the universe was her husband & after that I could never understand why we wasted so much time on things like the cure for cancer or putting a man on the moon when we could just have all those scientists working on him.
National Geographic Hat
He said the hat kept his soul from drifting off
& I asked if he knew this from experience
& he laughed & said all his best bits
were from National Geographic.
More Space
convinced she can do everything she’s ever dreamed of with just a little more space
More Than a Princess
Are you a princess? I said
& she said I’m much more
than a princess,
but you don’t have a name
for it yet here on earth.
Morning
Standing by the window watching his father go off to run the world.