I leapt at the chance
to have my name engraved
on my very own garbage can.
Now when my trash
is picked up, it will have
an identity and a purpose.
Sure, it will just end up
in a landfill, but
an observant trash collector
will get the chance
to concoct a story
surrounding that refuse,
giving it a brief flicker
of immortality.
We all needn’t shatter our mouths
on such unworkable jawbreakers,
there’s no cause for that activity.
I’m afraid of losing my teeth,
so what we shall do is clear.
We’ll scrap all that candy
and get some beef jerky,
as we still want a bit of a challenge.
We launched the remnants
of a poplar tree
through the air
and watched it come down
with a smack.
There’s something so satisfying
about flinging logs
in random directions
and watching passers-by
scratch their heads in amusement.
Next time we’ll make
papier mâché planes
and float them over the lake
until they fall
and get soaked through,
an exercise that will last
maybe thirty seconds
before we get bored
and break out the beers.
The previous tenant
didn’t paint the walls
before leaving.
You can see the outlines
of picture frames, hung
before the paint
had a chance
to dry properly.
This person is always
hurrying here and there,
and can presently be found
lunging at trees in the park,
playing a game of chicken
they can never win.
Marty has a look on his face
that indicates
his intimate knowledge
of the price of limes
at his corner bodega,
but he won’t tell anyone.
He wants people to see
for themselves
while visiting the store
and perusing the produce.
Marty has always
been a proponent
of mom and pop places,
and his face
gives away that sentiment.
Timmy wrapped a towel
around his head
to protect his locks
from the elements
so he could stroll about
freely around the square
without a care in the world.
A string
with the personality of a human
strikes under the weather,
through the phases of life
that pull at its core.
Elegantly twirling
through stories of its origin,
it plucks and harmonizes with itself
in a grand gesture of goodwill.
Nothing is finite
for this string, it sees
existence as a stroke of light
spread across its length.
WHARVED 