"An egg was hatching in my hand, the egg of an otter. Otters don't lay eggs, but I was starving." -James Tate, from The Ghost Soldiers

Calling it Quits

As we fell into rank, I clutched my family photo behind my back and shuddered for a moment. The general came in and began his address to prepare us. Many of us may not make it today, but we will all be brave, and those who die, die with an honor. He was pacing back and forth along the long line of us, but, at me, he stopped. Why are you shuddering he said. No reason, sir I said. What is that behind your back he said as he craned his neck towards my right side. Nothing nothing nothing I said as he grabbed the photo. He stared at it for a few moments. What the hell is this he said. My family, sir I said. This is a picture of moths on a streetlamp he said. I’m a moth, sir I said. He looked my moth body up and down. I can’t believe nobody noticed before he said. I’d still like to serve my country, sir I said, but it’s beginning to rain, and I’m afraid my wings will be of no use. The general stood still for a long while, for the first time in his long military career, truly stumped. The rest of the soldiers began shifting from foot to foot and moving their arms, as if they didn’t know a comfortable position for them to hang by how they were attached. The general sensed their unrest. You’ll be brave, and we’ll all be brave, wings or not he said. He ordered us to go, and so we went, very bravely.

"It took me months to trace myself back to myself as I'm my own father and mother." -Natalie Lyalin, from Try a Little Time Travel

Hangar

As the rain clouds move

over my expansive garden

I think good and watch as

the drops begin to fall

and it’s then that I notice

the plants bobbing up and down

all in unison to some sort of

ancient beat that I can’t quite hear

and I wished that I could just

hear it and I start to move

to what I think it may be

but this feels strange to do

in front of my family

so I go out into the rain

and join the plants

and attempt their bobbing movement

and my neighbors all look

out of their windows

and slowly shake their heads

seemingly in unison but

it’s no matter I think

that I’ve found it so I laugh

hysterically and spin and

spin until I fall and it’s then

that I notice the moths

under the leaves of each

of the plants one per leaf

all beating beating their wings

and all telling me to be quite

and my neighbors pity me

while I'm busy pitying them

"I want the orange juice to quickly evaporate and take me with it." -Tao Lin, from You Are A Little Bit Happier Than I Am

Advantages

As I walked down the road

everything behind me went dark

at first I noticed this

as somebody breathing down my neck

and I would take quick looks

at the darkness making sure

not to move my head at all

and as I reached my house

I waved to my neighbor who

disappeared instantly

I walked up my stairs

and lied down on my bed

erasing the entire world behind me

and the darkness surrounded the bed

and it’s then that I began to feel

a slight discomfort in my stomach

and I fell asleep wondering about

all that I had eaten that day

"A hotel in which one tangos in silence...In which children confide in imaginary friends." -Charles Simic, from The Voice at 3:00 AM

Barking in the Dark

I tried to travel through time

by clenching my fists

and kicking my legs

and closing my eyes

as hard as I could

and holding my breath

and I wanted to go back

to that day when I learned

about time travel

because it wasn’t until then

that I figured out about memories

and that to change them

time travel would be necessary

and I got up

after my another failed attempt

and I walked to my room

and I shut my door

and I sat down in my chair

and put my legs up

and put my arms

behind my head

and it was then that I figured out

that memories aren’t anything

more than thoughts and that

thoughts aren’t anything more

than putting my arms

behind my head

and why don’t you sit like me

on no chair

in no room

with no door

"My shoes are on the wrong feet, or so it seems to me now." -James Tate, from The Ghost Soldiers

Layers

I went to the end of my street

and laid on my back

and pulled my knees

in to my chest

and put my arms

around my knees

and placed my head

between my knees

and began rolling forward

down my street

and most didn’t know

whether to laugh or cry

but most ended up following

me out of confusion

and most told me to hurry

to which I said no I’m waiting

and so you must hurry

to which most said

no actually I’m waiting

"I can tell you things I'm not a piece of foam." -Heather Christle, from the Seaside!

Synchronized

And we all eat

all of our children

one day

or all of our children

eat all of us there

is no real difference

because we all cry

when this happens

and we put decorative rugs

on walls secretly

in hopes to walk our muddy

feet on walls and build to

precipices

and we tell our neighbors

to turn on all their lights

and they tell us

to turn on ours

and we form a community

that way by

making it so bright

we forget the stars

and people walk down

our streets feeling

very safe we all

feel very safe

"There is nothing looming in the world like snow on the hill in the air." -Seth Landman, from The Wild Hawk the Sea

Procedure

I went out hunting for you

while you went out hunting

for me in the taller than wide

skyscrapered city and most

people were alarmed to see us

carrying rifles and wearing

sunhats but I assured them

that it was all right we are

in the Serengeti and there are lions

and this amused the businessmen

and I climbed the tallest

building in the heart of the city

and I found you at the top

or you found me first

and we both roared like lions

and pointed our rifles

at each other and shot at

the exact same time and the

bullets collided headfirst into

each other so we reloaded

and shot again and the same thing

happened and this went on

until we ran out of bullets

and we complimented each other

on our hunting prowess

then put on suit jackets and suit

pants and tossed our sunhats

off the top of this tallest building

and we like to think that

the hats landed on some

businessmen’s heads and that

this amused them