The jaw and its ever—whitening teeth
I give it up — the stainless steel
of a brief parade, the cleaver and the candy
to the kids, the fife and drum, the mystique
of a shameless meat, the festooned pulpit —
all of it — awash in guile — all of it
single use appliances cluttered on the countertop
the lefting and righting of us all — the passion
for burning books
a fishhook’s barbed rationale — the walleye
teased on the line and belly up for a knife
the news — I’m giving it up
this nation of gulls screeching at french
fries — the cartoon of righteousness
and the humping of youth all flared
in the latest disease — the impertinence
of age and its ageless burden: knowledge
history wisdom slagged off
pudding thick and all rejected
for the G’s and X’s
of our burnished tongue —the scratch
in my throat only a barrel can itch
Image: Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
Sweet and Bitter Greens 