A Patriot’s Prayer

George Washington
Your founder and savior
Died on the flag for your sins
Come unto him
Confess your treachery
Pledge allegiance to His holy flag
For you were born guilty
And have been led astray
Chasing social good
For there is only one who is good
George Washington
The poor must pay for their sin
And seek redemption
Through his holy sacrament
Eat this bootstrap
For it is the leather of his boots
Drink this elbow grease
For it is the grease of his elbows
And do not be led astray
By false idols and false governments
False promises of care and education
For the way is clear
Let the naked cloth themselves
Let the sick heal themselves
Let the poor try harder
Lest you make them soft
Oh George Washington
Hear this prayer
From a soldier of manifest destiny
We are meek and will inherit the earth
Amen

-T. Weeks

Dunes

Hot on the surface
Hot enough to burn feet
Hot enough to regret
Jumping off
Rolling down
And the climb back up

Just below
Maybe three inches
Cool damp
Full of water
Tons of it
A giant sponge
Pretending to be a desert

Clever camouflage
For a place where fog bows
Grin at sunrise

-T. Weeks

Free

Free will don’t cost much
It was free to begin with
Freeways and muppets
Freehand highways
Race home
Exits every few miles
Thumbs flag free rides
Racers frequent free lanes
Free range sensibilities
Freedom to move
Forfeit for the bait
Buy one get one free

-T. Weeks

The Protagonist

Looks like this:
Run down sky
Knowing turn
Open window
Song in the wind
Wind in the hair

Or maybe this:
Slitted stare
Zoomed in
Adjusted grip
Panned out
Drop the beat

Or this:
Backyard
Bored phone
Long day
Waiting dishes
Hungry sleep
Rise again

-T. Weeks

An Anthropological Study of the Great Reef

New York has no main characters
New York is a reef
Teaming with supporting cast

The reef is many habitats
One habitat is called Harlem
Harlem has enormous sidewalks
The waterpeople in Harlem love sidewalks
Another habitat is called The Village
It has tiny sidewalks
Those waterpeople don’t like sidewalks
Above these habitats on top of everything
Some waterpeople build castles
But that’s not really a habitat
The castles have no sidewalks at all

In the reef the choral grows at night
When no one is looking
Neon faces and word mazes
Painted by waterpeople that have things to say
Some waterpeople cover themselves in dirt
They lie flat and stay practically invisible
Some waterpeople dress like sensible cars
Schools of greys and blacks and blues
Slipping by in sensible lines

All waterpeople have dogs
And they like pizza that tastes like spaghetti-o’s
The reef is famous for pizza like that
Waterpeople don’t like the Holland Tunnel
And don’t know about the nice Uber driver
That lets people pee on the side of the road
After being stuck in the tunnel for an hour

Sometimes the current pulls people
Into the reef or out of the reef
If that happens tell them not to panic
And don’t fight the current
Just move perpendicular to everyone else
It’ll eventually let go

-T. Weeks

Sushi Conveyor Belt

Little plates
Go round and round
Green and blue and red
Sashimi and nigiri
And who knows what else
Single file formula one
Jockeying
Towards chopsticks hovering
Like wading storks

I’ll take that one
Keep an eye on another
There’s a weird one
No idea what it’s called
NOTM
(Not on the menu)
UMS
(Unidentifiable moving sushi)
Here it comes again
Trundling along
Saying something new
Every happy lap
Until the storks get it

-T. Weeks

Learned This Week

Gold and golf
Only a fat finger apart
Just realized that

Tinder for octogenarians
Could be called Cinder
Confirmed with a dictionary

Home plate
Kinda shaped like a house
Just realized that too

Miracle whip and mayonnaise
Taste the same to me
Happy to know I’m not alone

-T. Weeks

Ping Pong

Listen Speak
Listen Speak
Listen Speak
Listen Speak
Patio Talk
Listen speak
Listen speak
Dis-belief
Surprise Shock
Laugh Again
Set Serve
Listen speak
Listen speak
Listen speak
Win by two?
Listen Speak

-T. Weeks