The day i lost my knees to the Germans
there were plastic chairs like the ones in my grandfather’s home
hidden out of time and space
the 60s and the wild west
And death in every room
But love as well
And a strange sense of silence
Like the golden dust we found on everything
shuffling feet on ancient carpet
Tiny bolts of lightning thrown with glee
Foxes in the snow, lines in the woods
And trees as far as i could see
His porno strewn through stacks of bills and letters
And his cereal in the oven
He made his bread into a ball
And i did too, without knowing
We feared the painting in his basement
The eyes of two children following
As we played pool or poker
On the tables he had laid out for his swinger parties
A marine without fidelity
Except in love for his country
and his mother
A woman made of pie and gossip
Who grew short in life as she handed it out freely
He died when she died
People in the right amounts
Far away and down a gravel path
Past the lake that froze
And nestled in the pines
Solitary hermitage haven for communalists
You would never know
If he would kill the rabbit or admire it through the scope
We should not answer the phone if it rings
He won’t be angry but his girlfriends don’t know about each other
And we don’t know what girlfriends are yet
A true smile made of false teeth
Pulled as soon as he could stand it
Thick, plastic sheeting on his stairs
And iron railings up and down
A titan made of kindness, veiled
in an ocean of nature
His daughter traveled this underworld
Always in between, the best and worst of both
Persephone redeemer
Sharp as a scythe and beautiful as the forest at night
Their eyes share the same expression
beautiful, beaming, distantly shamed
defiant and defensive
loving, loyal, lost
Escape and peace at any cost