a whistle of crows feet

do you finally sink without the moon?

neptune orbiting seven drain plugs

are you dancing this weather?

in virus air bluer sky fevered dreams

will half-baked clams reclaim the beach?

the perigee of muscle memory, blindly, of course

pointing towards the abyss - does this make my butt look big? 

that huge crack produces the kindness of strangers

might I impose for a whistle of crows feet?

lip balm, that's the night, buddy.

sergeant or colonel, lieutenant? 

beer battered the humvee explodes a chicken

is the last string quartet sanitized yet?

the gel like apparition of grandma's dinner says everything

brussels sprouts, you know what time is, right?

when last checked the calories left me behind

how does a slow burning bush receive absolution?

marshmallows - what the jumping cow became 

two choices wise guy - obama or omaha?

a surfeit of clouds blinks out the mind’s eye

Ray Caligiuri, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Michael O’Brien, Helsinki, Finland 

make the morning

winter darkness 

too big for a house 

the lion

an outside dawn light

ants ravage the pants

moving hills

with uncertainty 

we make the morning

source of spring

bounced back by

the river’s tribute

upside down 

the crows pay in r's

the past murdered

a cow settles

for chewing ennui 

Michael O’Brien, Helsinki, Finland 

Ray Caligiuri, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

after the hunt
melting into a hanky
the marshmallow

_-_-_

on a patch of frozen grass a frozen leaf

_-_-_

the sound of wet tires on wet asphalt

_-_-_

reconciliation 
you turn 
a tarot card

sticking out of the
‘fighting animal testing’ bag
a yoga mat

_-_-_

yellow blue drying on my shins salt water

_-_-_

god
underneath the houses
a river

_-_-_

nightmare the heat between an ice cube and a finger

in agreement 

with the moon 

the moon

_-_-_

the cuckoo’s call you become a statue

_-_-_

oilfaced cow emojis

Faced with a bitter north wind, do you stand behind or in front?

rainbow oilfaced cows ripple in field rut water

Why pull the world’s weight though midnight eyes?

metal detector metal detector a field bound by cow emojis

When the time comes will you replace your spleen with a carburetor?

only if I crank the shaft without the flight of bluebirds

Who drags time for the murder of crows?

His head full of clichés the farmer hits repeat on the Mac DeMarco song

Another one? asks the veterinarian hiding behind time and crows.

without fear or consequences he quickly plows into them

Is it time yet to beam up the scarecrow scout?

three miles to.... next exit the alien's green thighs 

On the cover of the autumn almanac is a photo of a lost explorer,  will you doodle a willy on his head? 

with a pig’s bow tie I hoe semicircular cornfields

Next you’ll tell me there’s no gas left in the pump house diner?

Softly he wipes his mouth with the paper he wrote this poem on

Michael O’Brien, Helsinki, Finland

Ray Caligiuri, Beaverton, Oregon, USA

hair of the dog

whiskey over ice
this morning
the softness of birds 

a glimmer of sunlight
on the rusted tractor

out of poverty
between barley sheaths
an armed robbery

just for the thrill of it;
faster, pussycat! kill! 

counting death masks
you ask the wind
to blow the other way

all over town
the scent of the cannery
the crash of waves

building a mountain
out of rocking horse shit

worn thin
enough to be real...
sometimes

through potato soup
you read about the war

in refrigerator magnets
a poem;
hair of the dog...

Michael O'Brien
Clayton Beach