Oxen Free

notes

to be

the only one

lonlier than thou

shifted gaze

cold snap of the neck

to stand

to leave

seek a hollow

warm

warmer

to crouch

to crawl

settle softly

into

endless hours

Heaps and vines
Window crate
Open structure
Hollow tower
An inconceivable incline
The impossible box

the boy who cries wolf
doesn’t get to be upset
when he gets eaten alive

hard 2 b soft

i m sad
but
i m dealing w/ it

NOTWELL
but u no

good girl bad bitch

ashamed of
my tendency
to ignite

a hard spark
erupting in
pure heat

i wish

to be softer
cooler
smoother

a languid, shifting shadow
a pool of dark water
a pile of untouched clay

a sweet lil lamb curled up in the hay
fresh and innocent and new
I coo and kneel to kiss the baby’s head
the lamb laughs and spits in my face

I don’t know how to be a home
I wrap my arms tight
and try to hold together
hold in

it empties

into what though

where does it go

it leaves me
trickles out
winds around the corner
down a slope
and slowly drips
into a little black hole

i’m sucking on honey
i’m stuck in the mud

the bad place had orange walls

the floor was unpleasantly cool and
stuck to our feet regardless of the season


the bad place was never home
was an afterthought of its creator
tucked away underneath


beauty in the bad place:

the lake iced over
the little moon dog
a suggestion of tenderness
the velvet turn of your cheek

you were born with a bruise that has only begun to show itself
that burden you carried but never could name
the shame that simmered up slow