notnostrums

Emily Toder

Emily Toder

Gerunds in Spring

I will describe the weather:
It is a bit cloudy
and any number of degrees
It is like a lamb coming and a lamb going
and a lamb strolling on a knoll,
a lamb beginning
We are all bored with it
so we describe it all day:
It was like a lamb peeling an onion
Clouds are like spring bulbs
It was like an onion rubbing up
against a cheesecloth
Go get your kayak 
The air is a peaceful warrior 
We are bored so we describe all day
A tree rocks
I think about my own dying
I mean I get to thinking about my own dying

 

Dash Maker

what does it mean to you
that the dash maker

is operating
at all times

how is it different
from if the dash maker

were some times at rest
why is it meaningful

that there is no part-time
work for the dash maker

why is it special
that the dash maker’s work

always get done
what happens

when the dash maker lags
how does it affect you

how are you impacted 
when the dash maker

goes off duty
how does it show

in your innerface
when he comes back

imagine if what you chose 
to manifest

you had to 
for the rest of your life

Mirror Maker

the mirror maker should be feared
controllably

and barely 
dealt with

do not ever commission him
I repeat for a project

of your own making
do not approach him

if you have something 
original thought up

like an idea
and you are near him

with your mitten
or mittens

never try to wipe
the smudge you see

you will only spread
the smudge

he hates this
if he should bubble

back up 
by walking away

do not grab for your walking stick
I said you must control your fear

Cactus Maker

his materials
are his greatest secret

it is hard to know
which of them is safe

I don’t know if they are quills
he sews

I don’t know 
if they are spindles

he uses
if he sews

if they are bird spines
if he sews them blindly

hating to see
what he has done

if they are synthetic
if he jabs them

into the trunk
which everyone knows

is water
I suppose

not all his materials
are mysterious

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