Anne Hussey
GHOSTS
we are as we are
and no one can say we're not humble
or do not recognize our faults
we fight and are excessive we
smoke each other out of our hiding places
defend our territories and keep track these
are our common politics
but between you and me I feel there is
a lack of communication I want to tell you
why this ashtray has lept from the sidetable
to strike you on the forehead why
the shadow of the clock shakes
in my quadrant of your room and the coasters
tip and slide from their stack
I don ' t mean to hurt you but to let you
know you're not alone to say
hello
and to give your life an added dimension
but no you look you clap your hand on the
back of your neck and swear at the floor
at the chrome legs of the glass table
growing out of the white shag rug no no
impossible the bourbon the time of night
you turn away and then back quick
the top flies off the tonic water
and the tonic bubbles in the bottle
something something by god
you are calculating distances
hello hello
you are trying to decide I can see the
buttocks of your brain
working against each other
as if you were
runOIng away
