At 6 I knew that “fuck” was the word to use whenever you were angry or frustrated or wanted to get under someone’s skin. This was back before I knew words like rancor and spite and abuse. At 6 I knew that “divorce” was a threat. They fought morning, afternoon, evening. They…

…the Earthbound greens, in their polyethylene bag, stayed crisp right up to the expiration date, a full eighteen days after leaving the field — no small technological feat. …

My detailed description of scooting through a big tube — the cavern formed by a hard-breaking wave — on a Kaikoos right contained…a whiff of authenticity. I still half remember that wave. — William Finnegan One time, in ages past, You saw a bit of debris, A leaf, a stick, a log, Carried…

Burning Down The House — Burned all my notebooks. What good are notebooks? They won’t help me survive. My chest is aching, burns like a furnace. The burning keeps me alive. — The Talking Heads, “Love During Wartime” Stop talking. Don’t move. Just sit, consume, and be consumed While the house burns down. …

We Don’t Need Another Hero We don’t need another hero — We need about one zero zero zero zero to save us from the hopelessness and fear — oh, you’re thinking, Here’s another weirdo. You’re thinking we just need to build some muscle. All we need is one more two-bit hustle in this…

To Robert Frost — The cows and mules still need attention; The chickens always want their feed. There’s the midday egg collection, But not much else that might impede The unabashed pursuit of play. For half of half a year I’m freed From mowing grass and baling hay, Plowing earth and sowing seed. No lambs to birth…