Ghosts in the octave
Summer birds in sestet
Intestines tire
Hints of
Connotative words
Tapestry. Tapestries of:
Weave woven Doubling
Attentive chords
False tunes full–throated
Stupid swallows In yard—
*
Turn
Counter-turn
Core
*
If coffee
Lust then
Good morning Affection bird
Quick noted Loose throat
Robin breast Boast
*
They ponder upon
Garden path while
Muttering (Im)perfect
Story Rendered
(Im)perfect Blazed
With Foxgloves
Baby birches
Squash blossoms
*
Not Then:
Two paths (always)
Two paths (for blooming)
Path One: To be Consumed
Path Two: To wither
To dead drop earth eaten
Similar not same, Ah, but that, Radiating
I n b e t w e e n t i m e s (Chanting a chant)
Green
awake
as what
*
The slant of sun He begins
Grapefruit sweating
Anxiety
People
Ineffective pills
Magnolia rot On windows
Winners/losers
More grapefruit
Cut-fresh
Flowers in chipped vase Because,
The moon is
Predictable trope: Romance
Serious ponytail Filthy mouth
Dried sweat Sweet tangerines after
*
Socratic questions For emotional diminutive
Perfect Commander Manly in man boots
Advertisement slogans Insert insertions
Greening heart Orchids in hand
He affectation of,
*
Occasionally an errant
Wildflower reminds her,
*
Crookedness All kinds Light-boned birds
Peonies drooping August bookmarked
With rain Accusations Scent of others
Infested with black shell beetles
*
Wood rot River riotous
Details absent Bare bone burst
Pride A simple sound Cello secretion
Whirlwind of wings
Clashing Life
He Door Hinge Dialectic She
She North wind Season splatter
*
Afraid of, Choric rapture
Heap of heat Soil ruptures
Magnolias gone Lilacs & lavender
For split tomatoes ladybugs
*
Enter one
Exit one
Tea steep
Mind loaded with
Slowed song
Wretched That mouth
To rip wings
From crickets
*
She:
Window-framed Light shifts
From:
Shadows to paled yellow
Harvested:
Hay What remains
*
Out of frame
Light lingers
Yellow
Paled to disappearance
She:
Darkness to final darkness
Below:
Ants & other insects—
Steven Karl is the author of Dork Swagger (Coconut Books) and Sister, (forthcoming from Noemi Press, 2016). Recent and forthcoming work can be found at Entropy Magazine, The Volta, Pinwheel, and
The First Time I Heard My Bloody Valentine. He lives in Miami and teaches writing at Florida International University.