231 - 240

your eyes are ancient

warm stones well worn by waters

impossibly gray

i think of my heart

empty. but what i see are

hollow lungs, breath full.

soft stone seattle

you've grown green moss on me like

lichen on a tree

driftwood driftwood!

you're back from the sea!

paid for salt with your sap you're

as dry as can be.

you walk like a cat

soft padded swagger, straying,

a feline beeline.

blood red ink

i don't remember hurting

writing, yes

how you phosphoresce

in natural light, to your

touch, a testament

in rescue

roots severed by spades

in effort

i am not waiting

held in place by sky and earth

dust i will become

'i'm old,' you profess

scrolled tongue and papyrus breath

rough edges curled lips

221 – 230

not yet manifest

i've been thinking of you in

wild flowers, sweet tea

we stare into space

city bus commuter cadets

needling through time

urban turbulence

to shuttle me home, so slow

most low flying jet

your absence is smoke

gray taffy pulled from fire from

embers still burning

the break in the floor

shows old paint the color of

old bones split, pale. dust.

in pursuit of more

or just the quarry itself

i'm deeply exposed

i have climbed this face

and for what then? give me lip

an edge to leap from

perfect trees, tall, call

i wanna run through your legs

a cat through a crowd

curled up cats napping

a quilt of soft grasses

hills warm to the touch

i am alone as

i chose to be, always. now,

a wolf in a pack.

211 - 220

slept on thoughts planted

like stacked mattresses on peas

sewn restless, soon reaped

spat lies from lips

subtle as missing teeth

a gap. stop.

under warm gray skies

my dad and I walk the beach

tiptoe over rocks

am i green to think

what is will not die like leaves

off trees in winter

born in the heartbeat

between soar up and plummet

waits flight's relative

soft dawned ophelia

to be drawn into words not

to be drowned by ink

silt sand burial

retrieval of an era

weathered to feathers

after you ate, left

i broke the plate washing it

i got cut, before.

little bear bumble

soft tumble thru bramble sticks

fall, sting bees, the hive

we dine by the tracks,

watch the weight of freight talk the

table into dance

201 - 210

crescent moon

not a missed mark, arc

through study of slivers we

reach understanding

neutral translator

hardly. you soften her words

like milk on broke bread

winter skeletons

trees white knuckled branches

snow lace parasols

old man, you disappoint

but friend,' my heart sinks,

'what good's a tugboat on a

ship filled with water?'

by gone i mean done

like a stone's polish finish

end of an era

(trapped) your hair ensnares

soft filaments, i give in

a spider's envy

early that winter

that morning, goose bumps took flight

on your hand's light breeze

surfacing from depths

your hip bone crests the surface

the exhale of whale

stray gray hair,

loose white wire. old house with an

unfinished attic.

straight from the cloud gate

gallops of rain turned gallons

troughs emptied of thirst

191 - 200

window pane rattle
i can hear you breath, in out,
too tired for words

i follow the seams
in your dress, threads unwind from
the tight spool of you

spell it out for me
bone white sentences
sweaty prints on the chalk board
oh, i get it now

i mistake your veins
for rivers, marrow old growth
baptized, i splinter

rain runs down streets in
seams, in concrete, compassion
towards patter patterned

that tree dropping green
perhaps this is it's first fall
go says it's leaves, still

herds of yellow leaves
running the red light and back
squirrelly swirl dancing

need i permission
to buy/eat a persimmon
concrete store floor shines

single footed crow
hop scotch king on a concrete
sidewalk. there's no chalk.

muscles cling to bones
bark on bare limbs chattering
fuck it's so cold out

181 - 190

i didn't dive head

first into the wave only

to drown on the shore

i'm stepping on glass

that's been broken, given up

form and clear function

wings closed

you'd think that after

enough monsoons, butterflies

would learn to stay still

wings opened

and after enough

monsoons, the butterfly learned

to stay very still

what it takes to fly,

cocoon shed, patience we wed

watch painted wings dry

i saw a leaf fall

dry flame from the treetop

daytime meteor

a blanket pulled

stitches of rain thread through trees

a bolt of lightning

small citrus peeled

white lattice lace held

together, slices

branches bare, birds

smiling up at the rain

wet crows feet

glove and coat divorce

leaving thin wrists exposed, cold

soft blank of skin

161 - 180

on beets, red

concentric beauty

like the hallow in my veins

spectacular gore

untitled #15

alternately, I'm

the panting dog laying down,

the tired arm, slack

#16

if not you or i

then it is fair to say both

we, us, now sep'rate

#17

cease your sighs

the singer at the muted mic

breaths for both of us

untitled #18

face friendly words, stumbled,,

echo thru the canyon of

my, we have grown apart

wait a second

hey, that's my shirt!

scanning for evidence. . .

shelf of milk crates, thief!

a course on coarse

dried on a rock

a salt awake wake

ocean waves goodbye

faith

if the mic wasn't

already plugged in, you would

electrify it.

untitled #19

the air you breath, i,

i want it. thin breath thru bones

harmonize the breeze

untitled #20

a cradle of grapes

on the table. the cupboard,

a coffin of raisins.

under under under

beneath sediment

weight of time, pressured of sand,

crystals conspire form

moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake

scarab black fur coat

always bent uphill, pushing

broke dung shopping cart

untitled #21

first thread, no needle.

then needle, no thread. falling

apart it would seam

untitled #22

pebble underfoot

fells me like an avalanche

hard (packed snow) pavement

fancy salt

crystalline hide out

surrenders to waves. unlocks

oceans legacy

thank you for feeding me

my stomach's a glow

you dear, put the epic in

epicurean.

untitled #23

pear in my kitchen

is it true you miss your tree?

a lone bird told me

breakfast

slime jam on toast

like a snail traversing bark

bite through crisp crust shell

this is about coffee tho i don't partake

hiding under grounds

terminal velocity

private jet to go

drum

hot sultry evening

chatter hot gossip over

air conditioned hum

141 - 160

declaration

hey sun, said the earth

there is no shame in shining

wind, sweep these clouds clear

sperm

she cried for the tail

tears so deep, so blue, upon

them, a whale appeared

untitled #10

speed up or slow down?

i love orange leaves, summer's

coming to a stop.

(that which does not serve)

i'm drawn to small pyres

rake my breath over hot coals

dust my words in ash

(i started smoking)

my smoke keeps dying

what's the trick to keep it lit?

como expio?

haiku equivalent of a dad joke:

nickel on the floor

worth my while to pick it up?

well, what's your 2 cents?

untitled #11

never have i grieved

so hard so fast that my eyes

they changed color so

12^th street

orange cab driver

drinking orange soda pop

window, bottle, glass

i love you #4

with you I'm bamboo

knock kneed and swaying, and you

wind in my hallow.

untitled #12

rough bark slowly split-

ting. stretched to turn old old old

deep down petrified

preventative measures

stop! hold still! lemme

scissor cut that loose black thread

that hangs like a fuse

suddenly it's cold out

dust rust winter coat

(jacket?) warm the back/chest/skin

to blister like spring

untitled #13

cooked cleaned now waiting

table set. expectations,

stacked like plates, quiet.

untitled #14

i can't sea you for

the salt sting left in your wake

churning emotions

bob marley

soft tarantula

creeps, back beats, love, i dub thee

prince of stone castles

hike up, run down

size you up mt si

switch back thoughts breathed into moss

clouds blanket top view

agave

a simple given

spiney limbs, pails for the well,

liquid cut with light

cilantro

treasoned leaves laced thru

and thru with true and true, wilt.

soft, bitter remarks.

i love you #5

i i i i i

like like like like like like like

you you you you you

i profess

i protest, grass blades

thru the cracks in the side walk

we walk side by side

126 - 140

I'm melting in the snow

my blood's sap I'm trees

tapped the temperature's rising

a sweet temple strapped

calculate us

I equate you with

staring square at the unmade

corners of the bed

you are, by and by

what does it mean to

cook/serve/eat the grains of rice

I wrote on, swore on

yes, I used to own a poster of a fractal

I imagine that

chaos probably functions

equally as form

destined to fade

holy shit that bruise!

a watercolor face down

still wet brush with death

untitled #8

this piece's title's

embedded in the piece its

self. can you find it?

famished

the bird bore an egg

mid flight. with no land in sight,

the sea took delight.

same page

we're tucked in the sheets

two pens in a shirt pocket

inky black warm hearts

how i found god

i'm a lizard pierced

on a thorn. laughing bleeding

staring at the sun

highway 1

riding round with you

i feel good, seat belt safe, full

filled up like gas tanks

honey glazed

tipped over you drip

with viscous indecision

wide mouth jar drooling

last one out

fires dying down

like my body laying down

logs crack, show gray, ash

leaves obscure

cracks in the sidewalk

look! line up exactly to

trees shadows, street lit

magician

i've tricks up my sleeves

shocking! a fresh battery

of eels, charged, waiting.

untitled #9

what is your stance on

mishaps? they happen, at times,

happenstance, missed times.

116 - 125

so, like,

it's not like my heart

is gonna run out of beats

still the sun breaks night

clove hitch

to a gentle swell

we sway below deck, night sails

bones creak. lapped wet planks

somewhere between often and never is always

i do think of you

in the same way i think of

trees, the ground, mountains

city pigeons

a synchronized flock

wings that just touch, and bellies

that reflect the sun

holy holy

i wanna plague you

like locust, rivers turned blood.

god please part our seas.

solicitous solitude

you don't live here but

here I bring you in, in thoughts

a pile of junk mail

untitled #7

if keys were me, yours,

worn on your hip or lost or

slipped in your pocket

it's a hot july

fire cracker cracks

shirts off, I'm fading daylight

enjoying the show

feline

time alone is nice

stretched across my living space

elongated cat

fight and fight and fight

you're moving. i hear

pigeon's feather whips. and you,

startled into flight.

101 - 115

things i am proud of

my milk crate bookshelf

and free boxed jean jacket, my

college diploma.

it's just a dust storm, it will pass

oh sweet date, you are

the sand in my eyes, mirage

of an oasis.

rough draft #1

when there's more ink on

your hands than on the page, it's

time to take a break.

again, I've over packed.

my bag sat for h'rs

before suddenly spilling

my day on the floor.

for travels near and far

sleep chart is set with

cartesian coordinates.

now nap the data.

self portrait #2

I keep thinking that

that photo is a mirr'r and

I haven't changed much.

if it's you, I don't mind

sitting in a tree

I'm hanging onto your limbs,

all my words gone numb.

come in

lockless key windchime

rings a refrain down, unchained,

in the open grass.

attached/free

I wanna be her:

soft lobe pressed against your chest,

listening, transfixed.

10

meditation is

my shy sky medication

cloud brain brings the rain

with one stone

'stay up, early bird!'

'it's way too late, night owl!' great,

now who do I coo?

my dear jeppa, you are pregnant!

blue dress electric

incubator, charged wild growth

contained but for now.

untitled #6

there's a slight chill, you

close the window with force

undue, i shiver.

on that old mountain trail

gravel, your voice spews

kicking up your point like rocks

thrown through timber teeth.

(if this title was an image it would be of an ouroboros. but instead of a snake, it'd be a tube sock)

walking to buy thread

to fix the hole in my sock

I got from walking

76 – 100

ayudame

sometimes i need help

remembering where i am

who, for that matter

. . .

unfinished business:

i will do all that i can

to avoid it.

constance

rivers change course for

a reason, but see, son, an

ess is still an ess

dog ears and a cracked spine = loved.

I bought you a book

and scratched out the title.

you read into it.

well at least I didn't use abbreviations

'it would be easy,

just as, to talk in person,'

I text from my room.

that's not exactly what i meant

i spat on my arm

biking to meet you. wind put

a spin on my words.

cinnigmatic

you don't cook at all

or chew gum, yet you somehow

smell of cinnamon

this natural disaster

butterfly monsoon

i read all about you from

my quicksand armchair.

bare as the floor

this meal tastes of dust.

your shirt having, lost your smell.

i use now to sweep.

in days past I would have held your hand

present like drift wood.

sand gives to foot prints, waves take.

here, we should head back.

Now can I have your phone number?

I was charmed by you

before I knew your cat's names:

Ben Purr and Fish Tank

that one first kiss

a submarine dive

- couldn't have breathed if i tried -

sunlit resurface

why is it I never see you?

you moved to Georgetown.

well, shit, you might as well live

in Olympia

and I never write back

mi abluela sends me

paper planes flown over flames

coughed prayers to the air

gunpowder green

a tight wound leaf sinks

hot bath unfurls a steep sleep

floating in high heat

dear moon

i know you are up there

but thru the veil of soft clouds

sometimes i forget

a cavity's lament

I floss. Oh, but why?

to remind myself, it seems,

of the taste of blood.

strike (anyw)here

watch the blue spark flame

struggle to life, fantastic!

curled black burnt matchstick.

I love you #3

I don't want to eat

so much as to taste the words 'hey,

honey' off your lips.

I'm living fine (art) without you

I wouldn't bother

coming back. you're the source of

my inspiration.

untitled #5

you burst in, all flames

set to consume. 'Fuck,' i think,

having just drunk oil

frozen objections to being put in glass jars

expand to stillness

to the echo of crystals

then cold cold silence

flightless birds

why fly through the air?

legs get you there. And for food,

you dig in the dirt.

thank you for the thoughtful gift

I christened the whisk

you gave me on chowder that

took me an hour.

static-y reception

I am one of those

people who switch the station

during their pledge week.

61 - 75

humans, sometimes

skeletons! we're just

bare, just barely not knocking

into each other.

anchor afloat

bubble on a breeze

balloon on a tree

i'd rather be caught in limbs

you leave me un-offended

so deep in your groove

you pass by you don't see me

a tree in a grove

on noticing that your dog sports an NBA collar

difficult, i find,

to believe your dog is a

boston celtic's fan

close enough to touch, close enough to feel

yawning or yelling

from here i can't tell if you're

crying or laughing

you make me nervous

your gray eyes alive

swing past like poe's pendulum

slick sweat on metal

seasoned.

you spent all of spring

molting your old ways only

to fall back to them.

bitter, robust

those coffee fueled words

spouting from your mouth could use

hella more sugar

tea date #1

loose leaves risk rides on

oxygen pockets to steal

kisses from your lips

(it's an excuse!)

not to brag at all

but I do my best writing

the night right before

this is my first spring

I climb trees to learn

if a leaf is born knowing

to fly or to fall.

historian

you've been written in

to my bed. crumpled sheets by

my cold feet. ink stained.

(ok, really it's a) Turkish Yurt Door

I bought a rug with

mud already caked in so

I can say I've been.

surmise the sunrise

you yawn like you scream

you got teeth like the Cascades.

night bites at your heels.

I miss you #2

you fit in my mouth

like a spoon, so well. hunger-

only when you are gone.

51 - 60

i turned the corner to find what you have found

the owl is face down

in the middle of the road

dead. a shadow cast.

fake it till you make it

no need to believe

even just the act of it

flips the switch to on.

wait a second

dear god, everything

in moderation? ok. . .

but what then of you?

on your kiss

i hang forever

a comet burning ether

exclamation point

avid adversary

i can build a shelf

but i ain't got books no more

i burned them myself

rinse wash repeat wash repeat

i did the wash but

still don't feel clean. yr shirt hangs

(like a ghost) drying.

then you invited me to go for a walk at night

nervous fingers flit,

sing, dart. i'm startled. cricket

legs caught in my throat.

dove of peace, dove of pieces.

the indifferent bird

having searched us for perches

delivers our sings.

occasional cumulus #2

steel gray clouds like slate

gray battleships armed, disarmed,

coming into dock.

i can see your breath

ice on the pond. no,

a stream frozen over. there's

an undercurrent.

41 - 50

Chapter 12

of all the fucking

possible endings, of course

i get irony.

to pass by like strangers

cat's claw of a leaf

carves a deep smile on my face

of wood if i could

occasional cumulus

the heat drove the clouds

into my brain. i'm sweating

them out thru my skin.

one

i've lost all but one

of my senses. senseless/consensus

it seems.

84 Days

sea the slick wet dog

despite years of neglect, spoil,

still laps at our sands.

barely a dune

b'ry me in the sand

far below the aquifer

i prefer deep s'eep

i love you #2

i want you around

to kiss me in the places

i can't kiss myself

to say i miss you

would be an understatement.

i'll say it again.

i miss you

identity

i'm a butterfly

i flit flutter fly fall but

better that landing

hold out your hand

this marble is like

the universe, but in it (reflected)

i can see myself

26 - 40

unit 10
hard soled hard wood foot-
steps, pacing tiger, painting,
etches down the hall.

oh, the horror
“You saw Vertigo?
Oh, I just love Stephen King!”
“Hitchcock, actually.”

untitled #4
reach for my bread and
I will stab you in both hands
I. . . low blood sugar.

it bled thru
you remind me of
permanent marker ink stains
I wasn't careful.

crumpled, sleeping
bread crumbled landscape
thoughts over breakfast grace lips.
I've filled up on you.

foul temptress, the only way I'll ever lay you is to rest
your purpose in life
is to strengthen other's bonds
or snap them in half.

as not to forget
white thread of a ring.
bandage wrapped around the cut .
that (s)nagging feeling.

I'm awake
I'm tired, I crave salt.
I crave the ocean like a
mermaid who bargained.

the roots of trees of leaves
if it weren't for the
hills, I'd have no one to blame
for letting us fall.

I still have keys to your apartment
there's no one around
to stop me from laying here
all day. a stray cat.

an argument settled
said the written word
write back to the blue ink pen:
you make a fine point.

defied by a caffeine sensitivity
thrown into the curve
at full throttle, oh but this mug
holds such potential

traffic
I look to cross your
highway endless highway of
words. sigh wait for the light.

I Love You #1
yes! hug me! hug me!
I'll wear you like a backpack!
hold my umbrella!

saurischian geneology
fossil bones exposed;
you can't discover that which
was already there.

16 - 25

driveways of homes i've lived in
before i went femme
gravel crunching high heeled shoes
i was a tomboy

i'm gonna read that book front to back
fuck your cocky stare
i wanna ride your mustache
rainbow suspenders

rosetta stone butch
you wanna have tea?
is gay homo speak for
let's make out/process

locks hold keys, dust hides change
oh elegant queen
you glitter like diamonds with
five o'clock shadows

the reason
if you're wondering
why, how the awesome hair cut
it's because i'm gay.

untitled #3
it has a delay
of about, oh, i don't know,
three -oops, there it goes.

sing another verse.
whisky's still whisky
on the shelf despite myself
warm sunsets suffice.

wake up
don't set your alarm
your arm as a root (i'm dirt)
helps me remember

aquarium compendium
how long do fish live?
tho, what is time without space.
the wait of four walls.

04/01/10
this is the first day
of the rest of my life - shit
i need to pay rent.

6 - 15

i awoke to face
it is beginning
it has begun already
dream wakes into dawn

i love working with you, but. . .
please don't talk to me
whispering so close after
eating beef jerky.

the logistics of perception
this blindfold's too short.
in order for it to work
i have to hold it.

travels in which i left you behind
berlin wall i fall
this heart is my canal and
swans float, indiff'rent

self portrait #1
i, a magpie, crave
structure, a shiny object
obsess to possess

untitled #2
like attracts like like
a bright satellite bent at
the orbit, yearning

definition, intuition
homosexual:
picked at half moon cuticles
jean jacket racket

the iron in my blood
your hand on my neck
makes me feel like molasses.
lick me off the floor.

on how you becomes we
like staring into
a mirror. except that my
heart is on your sleeve.

you steady yourself as you walk past me on the bus
face pressed against chest
hot damn i can see your slip
your hand in my purse

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

number 8
smoker smell, two dogs,
a dozen black kids. teacher's
voice. we all ride hushed.

why it is i don't write about you
really, it's because
your full name has too many
syllables in it.

i'm watching your band set up
the amplified sound
of wind distorts the myth of
your breath on my neck.

i'm watching you dance
only when falling
does your tattoo right itself
figures holding hands.

untitled #1
lost black hat, fallen
out of my pocket like words
from my mouth, then found.

ok so here's the deal

I'm gonna write 575 haikus in just as many days.
I started in April. I gots me over one hundred.
Will start posting soon.
xo,
ilvs