I. Tales of the Jazz Age
Tonight the ambassador will have us for drinks.
Tomorrow, that lady we’ve never met,
will say, “Oh you wouldn’t believe what dear Zelda said–
The funniest joke about an auto mechanic and the Prince of Wales…”
My collarbones pose like the jaw of a bluefish and that sweet way
I touch your arm when you [...]

Come on, its just your opinion
the TV disagrees with—do you know how
human beings disappear? I hear
silence in the pause of a trash truck
backing up, when the hairdryer’s blown a fuse.
This program may contain some violent content.
Natural mango body butter–
it’s new, I just picked it up from the store.
Lean in closer, you’re my brother
so I want [...]

When I went to Iceland
my family said
I wouldn’t know what to do
with my luggage.
Their worries were
like wishes.
Did you know 70 percent of Icelanders
believe in Huldovolk? Now I believe
the reason I go
is to come back home.
There’s only one road in Iceland,
a loop.
Loopy became a word we used
to make time stop.
But in Iceland I climbed
to the top [...]

I’m afraid the guy who cuts
My hair someday will snap, talk
Baseball, slide the razor down my face, pull
My locks as we discuss the demise of the LA Times
And use the scissors on my eyes
Because he swears he sees a dotted line.
Last week I stood in line
At the deli, watched the butcher cut
Salami and sausage, his [...]