Swerving in, I re-enter
A roundabout conversation
Driving mindless words
You make me flushed
It gives me a rush
As all of our cars
Scramble out of our garages
Directionless.

I’ve gotten into knitting lately,
Even though I’m young.
It is a calming activity,
Accumulating rows one by one.

The relaxing part is the perseverance.
It takes time to make progress,
Yet once you finish,
The product is worth it.
You created it all yourself.
That feeling of achievement
Doesn’t leave me in stitches,
But in awe of the world.

You use up your resources,
The ball of yarn gets smaller.
Soon you will need a box
To contain all of your passion.
You yearn to create,
To achieve,
And to accomplish.

Repetition and persistance
Can reward all who try.
Even though a stitch may be lost,
Or the needles clang together,
You can always get back to it.
Giving up is pointless.

I listen to the mid-day news
wondering vaguely why
it sounds so familiar
     more or less
like what I heard this morning

    we know that repetition
    is a major didactic principle

yet lately it seems to have become
the dominant discourse
not only in the news
but also in discussions, panels,
pop songs  advertisments,  etc.

as if

repeating things
over and over again
made them ‚more‘ true

I think cats have 6 senses
No, make that 7

1. Touch
2. Smell
3. Taste
4. Sight
5. Hearing

6. Emotion
7. Comfort

Yes, I think cats are the best animals
when it comes to intuition like that

They come to you planning nothing more than a mew or two
and when you break
They stay
right by your side
to roll onto their sides and let you touch their tummies
                                            (something they'd normally never do)
to stretch their backs and lovingly swat at your sweaty crying face
                                            (something they'd normally never do)
to careen their necks and allow you to stroke their ears
                                            (something they'd normally never do)
to raise their hinds and beg for you to hold them
                                            (something they'd normally never do)
purring the whole time


Yes, I think cats are the best animals
because unlike dogs, who love too easily and all the time
                                             (something I'm far too familiar with)
their love is reserved
for just the right time
when you need it most

And you know it's genuine
When it's love from a cat.

my mind is a vinyl record
in some places, scuffed, scratched
it skips every once in a while

covered in dust
the shine below
smeared with fatigue

a haunting melody of one hundred and forty thousand, one hundred and sixty hours
over and over and over
looped, destined to repeat forever
the same melody, the same song
a soundtrack of forgotten impulses
and broken thoughts
and misplaced trust

i listen,
my own audience,
and i wonder when
the key change is
but all i hear
is the chorus
i'm fated to sing
for an eternity and
a few spare minutes

because who knows
how long it takes
for a finished record
to stop spinning

Broken pivot
Endless fidget
Back and forth,
Back and forth
Back and-
Back and-
Back and-
twitch
Slam down
In and out
Purple thread
Through black ribbon
In and out,
Back and forth,
Thread snap
Little knife
To Cut the ties
And into skin,
Back and forth,
Thick blue lines
Hiding behind
Skin barely transparent
Needle goes in,
Out
Press the button
Up,
Down,
Hinges swinging
No control
Concentrate
Skin is fabric,
Black nylon
On peach vellum
In and out
As string appears
In dotted lines
Pinch to keep together
openings,
Eyes, lips, ears
A wound in a dress
Keep it together
A hole in the flesh,
Into a scar with time
The aches of a button-up
Dotted scarf
Black ribbon
Stitched together
Around the wrist