COZY

I knit some cozies
for the iron bars
on the windows and doors
of my tiny home.

They are sunflowered
And paislied in vivid chromacolors
that give the impression
that I am no longer afraid of the other human beings
living in my neighborhood
even though the insurance companies are.

WHY ARE THE YOUTH SO SULLEN

In all of these photographs
on all of these tiny portals -
So sullen and snide
bathed by smoky morning light
and none seeming to own but half a shirt
and always always someone is jumping through the air
(A cousin? A brother? A boyfriend? – gosh he loves to jump)

Worried shoulders
gaze fixed on the horizon
where something they can not yet process
is afoot -

Adulthood.

TWO RIOTS

A.
You are so good
at putting that ball there in that really tall hoop
it makes me want to punch the windows out of this car
and flip it over with my friends
and burn it until it is ruined.

B.
You are so bad
at running this country
and offering me freedom
it makes me want to do the same.