8.10.22

Four Poems by Mark Young

Taproot

 

The piece was brief & gossipy,

though bivalent, which can often

 

cause heavier rainfall. That upsets

the maxim “what's good for the

 

worker should also be good for

the nightingale.” Then she smiled

 

& said “But you shouldn't judge

the characters by their mustache.”

 

 

Domestic Tranquility

for Yumi Janairo Roth

 

Wash your hands before

you leave, but before

you change the towels

please read the message

on them — In case of fire,

please autoclave all medical

waste — & act on it. Other-

wise. The writing on the

 

wall that wasn't there be-

fore you came — what-

ever it might have been —

will come barreling down

from the sky & stencil itself

in place in indelible pencil.

 

 

5 Speed Ultra Power

 

The soft organic cotton

baby's bodysuit was

 

illustrated by hand

 

as an educational

aid for the clinician.

 

 

 

In the artifact lab

 

The fill has some cracks. Termite

radiographers gather there. A long,

spidery vein is inching its way across

the surface, takes on a squiggly shape

& begins to cause other symptoms

like itching & swelling with only 11

 

minutes left in the quarter. Drinking

& sometimes smoking are often

released in serial format. That can

mean a bigger story arc is revisited on

a regular basis. Leaves you hanging.

Chas. Dickens has a lot to answer for.