tornado warnings
a mayfly climbs the window
as though it held
an invisible ladder
to safety

email jokes about ripping off
"widows and orphans"
could mary shelley foresee
the new frankenstein
turning up on wall street

as if he were george clooney
I wait at the end
of the line
to get a picture
of spongebob squarepants

not asking
for miracles
I cut myself with the knife
that was too dull
to cut potatoes

curving like the arc
of a crescent moon
lifelines that find
shelter in the palms
of our hands

a bowl of chili
on a warm day
I no longer
feel the need
to explain my choices

picking up
blades of grass
a young boy
smells each one as though
it held a flower

not exactly the place
where jules verne
would have ended his story
the hot air balloon
that lands in a cornfield

responsible for the sudden
surge in population
purple martins put
   "catawissa"
back on the map

a chimney sweep
turned violinist
the blue notes
of yesterday's smoke
carry the next song