By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 18 September 2000
Cluttered Collage
fuck
it's hard
staying connected on long drives
with mediocre songs on the radio
and clusters of cacti
all along the barbed wire fence
and the pretense of martyrdom streaking
the window
i should go
i should find all my old yearbooks
and tear out the pages
i've already drawn evil faces
all over the bland black and white photos
of kids I never knew
i should chew my food more carefully
pick my friends at random
and never ride tandem on a rusty red bike
i like your smile
i like the bile rising up
i like touching your face so tenderly
i like my memories of our Eden
pre Tree of Knowledge
pre Serpent
no one deserves this
i know this
bliss should be easier
bliss should be clean green apple on the tongue
rose petals flung
toward a widening trail
sail away with me
uh oh
i didn't write that
dolly parton sang it
but i don't know who can claim it
yes
this would be easier
on an island
in a sunlit stream
or in the depths
of a chicken fried steak and cream gravy
dream.
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