"A Bird Bath On The Moon," "American Bricks Struggling With Zeno's Paradox," and "Lamp Worn"

A Bird Bath On The Moon

 

When Q-Anon’s

local representative

told me Edward Snowden’s

oligarch handlers

revived

the Birds Aren’t Real conspiracy

to mock the bald eagle.

 

I expected

news of a noticeable

uptick in bird murders

would arrive

with my morning cereal

 

even though I haven’t

eaten a bowl

since the third grade

when I puked

into my Wheaties.

 

Since January 6^th

there are connections

in the glare of the winter sun

that only exist

after you see them

 

but as the ground warms

around Q-Anon’s followers

they are addicts

without an organization

to acclimate them

 

a bird bath on the moon

armed to the teeth

with explosives.

 

---

 

American Bricks Struggling With Paradox

 

The first brick refuses

to buy a microwave

he says because

of the radiation

but I know his family

owns a toaster oven factory.

 

The second brick became

internet famous

for getting smashed

over the head

with a vanilla milkshake.

He tried to sell me a bottle

of Iverrmectin autographed

by Joe Rogan

but I don’t

have anything in common

with Matt Walsh.

 

The fourth brick

has a family history

of being the fourth brick.

Her grandfather was originally

intended for the Berlin Wall

but was redirected

to a blood bank in Detroit.

She refuses to see

the angle of her view

has shifted even though

she’s pivoting from the same place.

I asked her where she learned to moonwalk.

 

Brick eight sits on the toilet

retweeting Elon Musk.

He claims to be

advocating for free speech

and decentralized banking

but I think he just likes

smelling his own shit.

 

The sixteenth brick got on a bus

chartered to D.C.

but was left behind in Atlanta

when he went out for a cigarette.

I’m still trying to figure out

how he wound up

being thrown at a cop

in Boston.

 

Brick thirty-two is a paid informant

he took online swimming classes

when the pandemic hit

but almost drowned

cause his connection sucked.

I told him to adapt

his tin foil hat

to be compatible

with a 5G signal.

 

Brick sixty-four unwittingly befriended

an alt-right troll while volunteering

at a soup kitchen.

I’ve only ever heard them

talk about addiction.

 

Brick one twenty eight thinks

he’s doing it for different reasons

than his white separatist friends.

I told him that’s just mental masturbation.

 

Brick two fifty-six wants

to start a riot so widespread

we have no choice but start over

just so he can say he owned the libs.

He disappeared before I could respond.

 

Brick five twelve tried

to overthrow the government

but nobody seemed to care

or notice

their numbers have been doubling

for generations.

 

---

 

Lamp Worn

 

Your next life

will be the bookcase

where you shelve

all your previous selves

 

it will be easier

to pick up the phone

 

an audacious voice

will convince you  

Ted Danson's hairpiece

is an Ai

programmed to

make all your decisions

 

in the next episode

cigarettes will taste

like everybody

knows your name

 

there are plot devices

unfolding

that haven't

been revealed yet

 

in the coming episodes

memories will gurgle

from the recesses

of your cacophony

 

your subconscious

will manifest

a petentiometer

 

field operatives

will tamper

with your belongings

 

there is a meal set out for the crew

—box lunch with wax apples

 

the bathroom doors are locked

no one’s sure

who freelancers work for

 

in your next life you will watch

re-runs of Cheers on your phone

as you commute

 

the phone number that will conjure

most like muscle memory

in your next life

has started seeping

into the definitions

of the episode

you are currently living

 

the numbers carry within them

the ability to evoke a pattern

 

that will bounce around

the trepidatious twitchings

 

of this cartoon     

you seem compelled

to draw yourself into

 

in the coming days

the dream you’ve been handcuffed to

 

will show itself

adjacent next seasons

intrepid jackals

 

in the next episode

rapid eye movement

will increase

 

Ted Danson's hairpiece

will break free of it’s programming

 

lamp worn

shadows and glue

 

radiating the confused frustration

of malignant singular focus

 

Yelling

Norm! Norm!

 

Come Back To Your Stool

Norm

 

You know

we will

find you!