is it just me or is dread crowding
the lake like cheap fog still
i feed the white semi-wild chunks of chatter
that make home on the dock i feed the ducks
cylindrical pellets tossed from blue plastic
if nature’s all an animal brings
w/ themself in2 the world i’m fucked
my innate disposition a half-remembered summary
of that movie we watched last week you know
the plural of anecdote isn’t data
but if nature’s what you’ve got
in yr pockets i’m no good
w/ a needle and thread’s
more reliable than floss
slam yr hands into my chest
you’ll only find some tuna
i let rot in the freezer twenty-seven
million unsent emotions
a leashed toydog that shudders
barks like it’s a room-over
i must’ve taught myself not2
rather than altogether absence
right
we’re animals
remember
the growls of night
racing compete w/ cricket’s chorus
w/ opportunistic frogs and their bickering
how can i write a laugh
only practiced @midnight
on the dock laughing
out the lake’s moondiamonds
i married two bass
in their conjoined rings
just 2screw up my best man speech
i forgot the ending
everything just
came out
like gravel
plunking
from a tire
Jude Ehmka is a writer based in 24hr parkinglots. Their work is an experiment in chaotic vulnerability. Jude can be found anywhere, if you yell loud enough. They’re usually out building castles from book piles.