Night after night, talking on the phone,
we give over to a crackling, a circuitry, a crux
the ceiling fan stirs up into the scree
that proves all electricities are one, and one
of us says I can’t hear you just a minute
but the talking heats back up and one of us says
hang on and pulls the chain again,
tail of brass beads of our petrified sweat
dangling from this diced heaven
we are punished to,
then one of us says the wall and one
says oh ok the wall, it’s the wall
of tiredness but also the skin walls
coming back around us like silly costumes we still
agree to wear then somebody says
oh what costume is that and someone
mentions boas or suspenders or a hoop or pantaloons
pantaloons! that’s the word of the day
I haven’t heard the word pantaloons for years I love
that you use the word pantaloons my requisite darling
and one says requisite oh you are so very requisite tonight
and someone says you’re pretty diffuse yourself lately
diffuse? I mean diverse as in all of your selves
that have shown up this evening which has turned
quite terribly away from the sun once again
until even this stalwart candle chokes on its wick
so we are talking in a darkness tinged with smoke
obscuring the vector from your house to the ersatz satellite to mine
and someone whispers the universe thing
works better you know
than trying to fix this
I do better yeah I know we’ll just ask the universe
to make for us a way or a job or an army
what’s that you mean you haven’t even seen the films
it’s not bad I could read you the whole saga
read me something anything I don’t care what it is
we talk about I just like
are you asleep oh no I’m not yes I think you were just now no
I’m just resting my eyes and listening to your voice
