Nervous

I feel bad today like the jacket of a homeless man

wrapped & folded around his dog or like a dog

in the vet's office shitting himself. The analogies

are half-hearted attempts to impress you & you

are reminded of the not-seriousness of everything

that I pretend is not serious. Everything

is the sun and the hugeness of the cold

around it. My blink; your teeth; the TMZ news.

I would rather read about Lilo than learn

about Kandahar or Monsanto or other new words

that all mean the same thing. I know I am empty

as the dense carved wood of a bear's head

taxidermied and overwhelmed by a sheath

of fur that doesn't mean anymore what it used

to. I would not say these things seriously

to you. My heart is anchored by nervous bones

and my head is buried.