he hit hard

even when 

we were just playing

          *

supporting his extraterrestrial theories 

with quotes from Jackie Gleason’s ex-wife

          *

the pace of the stone mason, the heat

          *

Romeo’s Barber Shop: 

one kind of haircut

and conversation

          *

giving her political opinion at pump number 8

          *

out among the smokers

the fragrance of the rainy night

          *

‘First self, self again; then you, Margaret’

          *

I put the cans out on Monday

and take them in on Tuesday

          *

cockroach hind-legging it

across the white tablecloth

          *

‘World builders’

always leaving out

the best parts

          *

they’d never heard the phrase: ‘indoor voices…’

          *

the origin of a word

or the memory of something I know

never could’ve happened to me

          *

well, it was a relief to learn that time wasn’t a consideration

in his wanting to change places with a scarlet leafhopper

          *

stifling, then someone decides

to drill a hole

          *

webs in the breeze 

flawless spectrums 

          *

if I could just get a little more nothingness into my last breath