Family Attraction

By Halifax

Autopsy-Turvy

JFK postures on the corner gurney
his temple is laid open like a jelly doughnut
the pudgy coroner said he had died
at least, I think it was the coroner that said so

I have this mental image of JFK
it stays in my mind with his voice
so a moving picture mired in synapse
riding my brain everywhere I go
I can’t get him out
but he seems to enjoy the ride
he’s always smiling
always talking excitedly
except that one time he isn’t
then I wonder who was riding him
hard enough to escape through that hole

Then I wonder how hard he’ll ride my brain
before he can break free and get out
and what the coroner will say about me
once he licks his fingers clean

It’s not that I want to go out all scatterbrained
like Kurt Cobain when his barn burst open
but rather for fear that my brain is a docile pony
broken in by helpful children at the petting zoo
put down one day as mercy from embarrassment

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Storm Out

By Halifax

fits and starts

the sky above bolted
slammed the door loud
it rattled the fridge
and stirred the baby

toss the air outside
with you and beat it
shake fists at clouds
slinking away guilty

walk wild mountains
on a collar and leash
pick up its droppings
with your bare hands

pitch them at horizons
taunting beyond reach
then fetch the things
to throw them further

just don’t quit trying
Get back at it for us
I will wait here in case
your name escapes me

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The Trade

By Halifax

Six Letters to Santa

negotiating alpine trees
trade shade for sunlight
withering with excess
those that hold out
for better terms

the first step
to learning her name
requires uncovering her preferences

her friends betray her easy enough
if you first ask in confidence
she prefers receiving her name to giving it

she believes confession to be a sacred exchange
she only extends credit
for the last word

the wife’s christmas tree
lit up like a burning bush
dedicated to the worth of barefoot children
awed by the glory assembled before them

sputtered values and measures
lie hidden in a gift box of belief
where the card says be
and the rest means what you think it does.

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