I wonder about my neighbors
\nwhat they would say
\nif they knew I was
\ntyping them out
\nfleshing them on to paper
\npinning them there like
\nbutterflies unmoving
\ntheir stiff wings fragile
\nkept away from the light
\nto avoid fading
\ntheir lips are there
\nthe clothes they wear
\ntheir hands spread against the backs
\nof their children
\ntheir cars breaking down in gullies
\ntheir words splattering
\nlike glass on the ground
\nthe knives they hurl
\nthe smell of them
\nunder the covers at night
\nthe way the light falls
\nthrough the window
\non their cheeks
\nthe door slamming
\nthe cows moving their haunches
\nchewing up the fields
\nblack letters strung out
\nfisted together in bunches
\nI cannot help it
\nI gather it in fitfully
\ncompulsive
\nafraid it will all
\ndrift away
\nif I don\u2019t
\nget it
\ndown<\/p>\n
Published in:<\/em> I wonder about my neighbors what they would say if they knew I was typing them out fleshing them on to paper pinning them there like butterflies unmoving their stiff wings fragile kept away from the light to avoid fading their lips are there the clothes they wear their hands spread against the backs of … <\/p>\n
\nShowcase Press
\nIssue One\u00a0 2006<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"