Sweet Pharmaceutical Riff

what can it be like

very deep down 

milk through a sheer shirt  

seeing oneself clearly

you can't have both

playing “house” three blocks from the river 

that kept my ancestors out

five old homes being motored to new foundations three blocks from the river

where I play “house” 

Historic, Historical 

how long does it go on

manicured nails photocopied 

over words

you grow up and think 

it must feel different

and then 

it feels no different

your hands built into your shirt

you can't float anymore getting 

a tan somewhere in California 

you can't take your prescription pills and feel the same 

high

at the local museum a diorama of an auntie

cooking sofkee

behind a glass

I look through a window

which is not "my" window

a megaplex in an alley 

a clear lake with no fish  

it’s strange

the world’s
theoretical stitching 

tires 

lilacs

can you speak 

to its relation

to its weight

to its white 

clouds

Classics, 

Reimagined 

America, 

Kevlar 

Velcro 

Teflon 

God and God's 

blouse 

sing us your virginal wool 

lullaby 

place your great 

phallus      good 

crystal 

where we’ve longed to

touch