cliff notes

the last time i fell off a cliff
i was photographing the sunset

an aluminum gardener rusted into position picking flowers for his wife
i’ve been burnt by the grill that taught me how to kiss
and the flowers in my hand never died only grew less distinct
see , your pumping water hose is too heavy to hold and the tank you store yourself in is getting
hazy like the dinning room you call a brain breaking capacity feeding itself till it bursts
and i’ve been to peep shows where snares get fucked by drum sticks behind plexie glass
my memory runs a slide show at the local fire house each evening come get your free horror movie
pretentious acting lessons puke for the cameras popcorn for the frequents
see broken engines only make for bad rides but i bought the ticket fare and have got nothing else
to drive so you scribbled your name on my paper heart and forgot to pick it up when the rain check
called to confirm the date
well it’s pick me up at eight we’ll drive off a cliff and hope to die before we miss
the way spring smells in your room at dawn and i carry butterfly nets like swords and
wander round your thoughts swiping at anything with wings
roses at the wrong doorstep wishes with bad postage
and i only left my dreams at your house
just so we’d have to see each other again
i’m too bent out of shape to fit in blown out toll up bridge down gapped tooth
and us two
we’re broken ice sculptures that can’t seem to stay out of the paradise sun
with matching paper umbrellas that keep ripping in rain storms
you’re the thunder to my lightning
the hair drier to my full tub
electrons both negative always trying to make love
we’ve got whores, alcoholics, drug addicts, insecure look alikes, origami pigeons
pull my tail clip my wings it’s a smile mission make my lips get up and dance
mouth get up and run off balance brain doing the tight rope greeting hug
pull the plug and watch the moon pull off its panties half naked and standing in the window
uneven haircut flashlight hard hat system glitch
and i’m the white coat altruistic not too rich donator that keeps putting all my funds
into a company that only robs me
i shoved my quarter into her slot until she started spitting gumballs
let’s chew the conversation till it’s easy enough to swallow
it’s all bullshit in fancy toilets trash that’s gotten picked up one too many times
fucking lip stick stains holes plugged with cork screws spilling bottles of cheap wine
these kind of stains never come out
and i’m tired of going in to save the ass hole who can’t swim
you’re a fucking fly caught in my knotted hair
that hangs over my face like fisted hands
and at times i catch the slight scent of burnt rolling papers
from the end of a cigarette
and i think of long summers with pages ripped out
i walked 4 and half blocks with your damp heart in a brown paper bag
and my walkman dies every time you hit that battered note
from here it looks as though your brake lights are out
and its got my sexual drive in neutral
fingers on the volume
she’s in a dump truck pulling the petals off a piece of seaweed
and how many blankets does it take to reproduce me
and my lighter go out under the yellow porch light and talk about
how fast we can burn the bridges over our flat lines
without the moat sinking to the bottom
so i gave my life to the first bullet that jumped in front me
dedicated love letters to mailboxes that kept relocating
a laundry basket that takes off its clothes for any drier
that can supply enough warmth and affection
a car that picks up any passenger
that will refill its tank with enough reason to keep driving
you with your flash light eyes your sos light show your dimming hope
so the cap’s been twisted off the coffee stained my finger tips
and i burnt myself with the first cigarette i ever tried to light
my lover’s a sock drawer
and i’m a scuff mark
but not the only one on her shoe
so it’s been a long movie you’ve now got your spotlight in the credits
keep fishing in dirty ponds playing your love songs on broken guitars
peel the sun like an apple flush the core and get that flash light out of my face


and if you fall slow enough
you can hit the ground
just as the sun goes down