CIRCULATING

by rae armatrout from just saying

see something, say something.

jotting in a notebook.

carrying oneself

in a defensive posture.

pausing before shop windows.

half-hearted

self-surveillance.

say something.

“purpose-driven.”

“normal circulation pattern.”

rate monitor.

jotting in a notebook.

MY APOCALYPSE

by rae armatrout from just saying

a woman writes to ask

how far along i am

with my apocalypse.

what will you give me

if i tell?

an origami fish

made from a dollar bill.

after the apocalypse,

we will all be in a band.

we will understand each other

perfectly.

*

“it’s alright” and

“it doesn’t matter.”

let “it” stand

for nothing.

*

a weathered, fleshy bicyclist

wearing bunny ears

and a tie-dyed shirt

says “zoom”

as she coasts past

TRANSACTIONS

by rae armatrout from just saying

1

what do we like best

about ourselves?

our inability

to be content.

we might see this

restlessness

as a chip

not yet cashed in.

2

you appear

because you’re lonely

maybe.

you would not say that.

you come to tell me

you’re saving money

by cooking for yourself.

you’ve figured out

what units you’ll need

to exchange for units

if you intend

i know i mustn’t

interrupt.

3

hectic and flexible,

flames

are ideal

new bodies for us!

REMAINDER

by rae armatrout from just saying

string of empty offices,

illuminated, festive?

*

people exist

to attach importance.

*

i practice

high speed de-

selection.

*

the difference

between nothing

and nothingness

is existence.

*

my dead friends

don’t visit me;

they say i didn’t

know them.

*

you are cautious

indolent, stubborn,

skeptical, gentle, tense.

*

at sunset, pigeons

practice synchronized flying.

*

thus “are” becomes “is”,

“is” becomes “ness.”

*

let the burning spill

extend.

NEW INTELLIGENCE

by rae armatrout from just saying

1

stars

are the campfires

of exiles.

language exists

to pull things

close.

*

stop that!

communications

are being monitored.

collusion is forbidden.

humanity

will be punished

with the profusion

of new jargons.

2

inverted in glass,

a white cup

invents the underworld.

*

fog thins

to chiffon,

nylon,

easter.

*

in the universe next door,

i’m gone

and the shadows

of the leaves

of the elm i had pulled down

still make a fuss

over the earth.

STILL AND ALL

by rae armatrout from just saying

1

since we’ve grown,

it’s reasonable to think

we’re shape-shifters,

that the pink hibiscus

with its protruding stamen

is a french kiss

we might still exchange.

*

sun laminates

the shallows

and an old woman

is dressed in gold lame.

2

the sea’s white blurts

do all the talking

here,

lift the weight

i only then

begin to feel.

*

still,

in my nightmare

the doors all

look alike.