cold steady reliable
HEATING
And so we are back to the summertime again,
with lots of folks laid out on the grass just far too drunk for the afternoon
and the age they are.
Grown people playing children’s games
with children watching from the sidelines
all a bit confused.
I bought my third Frisbee in a week
and it was promptly borrowed
and eaten up by a too-branchy tree.
The markets were clustered up
even in the heat and recession.
No auto workers here. No lay offs.
Only vibes, nine dollar crepes, juices made from roots that promise miracles.
I need shoes and shorts
that let my legs breathe,
a shirt that lets my arms
burn in circle cut outs
so everyone knows
how much time I spend near the sea.
I’m driving cross country soon.
Not sure what I will find there
Maybe you?
Maybe someone you know?
Maybe a taste I’ve never tasted.
It’s going to be a hot one.
Hotter than then last.
I can already tell.
I’ve kept the same air conditioner
for five different houses
blowing out five houses worth of air.
And every time
I pull it out
dust it off
and turn it on
It starts right up like clockwork.
Cold.
Steady.
Reliable.
Poems by Dallas Clayton
DON’T WORRY
We can plant food
in the earth
and it will grow.
It is not a secret.
It is easier to make
than clothes or movies.
We don’t even need to yell at it.
You don’t even need to freak out
or stress,
or whatever you call it
when your jaw gets all tight
like I saw it get that one time
you were mad about your coworker
who cheated you out of that sales commission.
Yeah, you were so mad then.
Couldn’t stop talking about it.
Coming up with weird revenge plans
like a TV caper crook.
Can’t even remember that job now.
Can’t even remember what it felt like to call someone a coworker.
But you remember the food we ate.
Juicy Watermelons.
Came up out of the ground
took no effort at all
just time.
like a baby
or anything else that truly matters.
GOOD LUCK
If you do something you enjoy
long enough
eventually someone will come along
and offer you money
to stop enjoying it
so they can take it away
from you
and break it into little pieces
because this is what makes them happy.