779

call up the telephone wire
call up the power cords
call up the bank
call up the green trees
in the winter night
call up my oily tongue
on a canyon overpass
who’s to say what it means
to feel right

I found a watch in your dad’s study
it was packed in a box
with bubble wrap halos
and ribbons
you tore it out of my hands
with your yellow teeth
I didn’t mind
it was yours
wasn’t it?

I crushed a bottle
against my cheek
it’s starting to sink in
it’s all starting to sink
metal against my bones
it causes my back to ache
my neck to creak
only aligned with the way
your chest caves in
then rises when you’re startled

that’s together
that’s a nice phone call
I never got
I never gave

call up your mother’s aching arms
call up your brother’s tear stained face
call up the horses near the barn
call the cousins you don’t speak to
I don’t speak to anyone
nowadays
that’s together
what it means