Hiruzen

& the horse-archers watched as I tried to tame the wild.

calculations of sleepless steps bent on becoming imprint:

because to speak my verse is to decipher my movements,

and if the stray arrow orients itself to my binding of skin,

let the wound tear and flow with pages, stanzas, chapters,

remembering the libraries burned at the passing of elders.

I am more than a meek inheritance of ash and condo...

Orientation

Bag groceries at the market down the road. Because your mom

says you need the money. Because you need the money. Paper

or plastic? Don’t mess this up. You know how Cheryl gets. Eggs

and bread on top, meat on its own. Carry them out. Hold them

from the bottom, thank them for shopping, wish them well on

their way. Ask for time off. Let your boss yell. Miss your

brother’s state championship. He...