you’re only six months old
and so i sing
or look
or hide and show back up again

you’re only eighty-three
and so we talk
or look
or smile as we go by

i’m only halfway there
and not the right half
either

stuck between
singing and smiling and
separated from anything
like decisiveness

the design of the
body and mind failed
to take into account how
little we know of
either
let alone how to
establish a relationship
between them

grocery carts emit
a type of music but
only to those tuned to the frequency
of both
industrial blight and magic

you’re only the age you
aren’t
really afraid now
are you?

local authorities have reported
significant word spillage
in the vicinity of this house

cleanup efforts are underway