The geographic center of an onion
oxygen boils anti-memoir
questioning hollow snow covered
a loom in darkening compact
, pounce::::: Alone &
Murderous
, last known poised root canal ,
stiller peaceful
height ,
advantage cosmos:::::
At time
wild beasts burst. But
profounder they are NoT
little pre-warrior site
An OvaL
ToWeR ,
dream a grass ,
fence tho SHIPwreck
& in remaining legions
these slates tarnish
Babylonian
sky?????
Sheba turned back.
Crust obsidian legend.
Dagger ramparts fathom
darkness.
Pools! Lands!
Scales! Collected trays
juggle café leeches
, observatory
like the anamorphous
commonality behind
facets of the valley.
Bring
left eye bursting
exaltation completed tearing
hailstones ,
dancing needles =
windowpanes of steel ricocheting
grooves , cyclone shutters
busted ennui
pitched
90 degree TuRn =
signaled bean grim combat
Untested circle
an entire body. Crater
semifriendship merging
dead anachronistic mahogany
, piercing situational:::::
Hard forgotten shadow
scrutinizes intersections
at once proclaiming
baffled aircraft carrier
in vogue , in steam
“calm drops of nose
bathes reptiles long-awaiting
complexion whoever dislodges
evening sculpture &
federation expedition race ”
. Single idol vexes
scent & no monkey
, zine wafer desert ,
adjusted stellar insect names.
Phantom coin dislodges
inscriptions flowers disseminate
sacred under ashes
, cisterns primrose orchid
, rat loosening
kingdom:::::
Bearing effigy surrenders
reminiscent ambulance
a shorn shackle ,
pierces flying veins of
earth , asked a
curators point ,
destruction on budget.
Constellations absorb
almost corrugated
equally industrial
disappeared heat
maladjusted
, lavender steppes
coated foothills
etc. suburban purges
& guards
sparkle meager
boiling , route
un
written = shrub
worth a corridor
::::: roofless chin ,
elbow fort ,
pavement humor
, pressed perched
boulevard nothingness
. Mile long sleepwalking
erection
inspected slates
submachine subterfuge
behalf of task
spent inflation
asked spite dawn
, occupation forces
invulnerability. Banal
concurrent wallet
:::::
Conclusion
, a mouse ,
beginning clever onward
daze , escorted
key
a radiant vaginal tunic.
Breezy doors
swing hinges
flood secretary
pseudonyms
exaggerated summary
of TeN minutes
translated
opponent of No
Importance ,
shadowed false
commandment :::::
“Thou Shalt Not Assume
Expected Rags or Elsewhere
Crosscheck Fins.”
asked & everlasting under torture.
Protagonist inherits a Branch
luxuriate twisting seaweed encounters
riddled euphemistic provenance lightbulbs
skiing seldom buried atrophy
wary inside cloth armories
fading masturbatory paradigms
ONCE
, top spun ,
linger as squirming miserable lampshades
: encrusted
, symbolized
, reinvented as safari telegraph wire
interrupted hitchhiking spear
requested biographical bruisers
riding concussive photographs
(‘series hark a loss O! avoided festival’)
( - - - / / / / /
takeoff splinter re-ordering hyena
a cot fumigated aircraft mine
killing elephant teeth in grimace
centralized joke store correspondence
among passive ancient volcanoes
(‘shiver blanket raiser wounded knife’)
| nod | , | pierce | , | pleasure | , | retain |
( . . . ) \ \ \ \ \
broken essays steal backdrop euphemistic maps
characterized among tourist libido narratives
justified happenstance gap lunged constraints
intermittent child allows rent
postwar routes fulfill psychosis
displaced iconoclast triggering
classified regardless futile preface
(‘mania respected minimized mustaches’)
( , , , , , , )
hapless voyage rendered lard an alchemical paradise
strutting poinsettia parachute underwater scab
listened at door to submarine industrial pinnacle
crumbled as thorough nightmare crisis solitude
________
Joshua Martin is a Philadelphia based writer and filmmaker, who currently works in a library. He is member of C22, an experimental writing collective. He is the author most recently of the books peeping sardine fumes (RANGER Press) and [Ruptured] >> Schematic << MAZES (Sweat Drenched Press). He has had numerous pieces published in various journals. You can find links to his published work at joshuamartinwriting.blogspot.com.
Joshua Martin is on X @jmartinpoetry