ok, my neighbour says
once i was a liftbridge
and they filmed the moon landing on my spine

see,
they left a shoe, a map of Maryland
a dog-eared copy of How to Teach Your Dog to Sing

it wasn't a hard time
just therapy for my swollen
membranes

see,
my neighbour lies a lot
he cooks marine mammals at night
he sang
I was Swinging and Sky High
sitting in his baby wading pool
festooned with debris

rockets could write your name in the sky
sure
but you can't read

i never learned the language

the old folks upstairs have a dog
a white dog
and he speaks for us all

the dog barks at the bony moon
there are tiny jumpy things
at the furry edge of consciousness

and our sight isn't so hot
(are those rockets? that my name?)
and though it's true
we never learned the language
we smell well
can tell someone's cooking up dolphins
basting their vague smiles with inflated promises

living's therapy for some other time
they say to the spatula

they pull down the dark sky
project something out at the stars
if we don't walk away for popcorn
we'll never hear
the sticky smack of earth's sweet floor