finally tomorrow
by t. zoEy benally

my friend...
has a Magic Eraser
wipes oil abandoned by former tenants
but i wonder--where?
does it all go?
matter never created nor destroyed
human grease morphs, atoms shift
someplace skids are waxed
algebraic units bounce across equal signs
negative signs hitched
on their hips
fat babies gurgling for milk
alchemy removes what harsh
chemicals and words
Bureau matron hen screech
"what's wrong with you?!?"
Indian left behind
Affairs rubbed away
spit on a thumb
microscopic ink rolled with epithelial cells
message expunged
from a brown-pink palm

never fathomed by me...
by t. zoey benally

i can see into the future
through a Bisti crystal chunk
hoodoo shaded, untanned, cool

i look through 9:40PM eyes
still cold from the outside
ears still frozen, i listen

i see him still sitting there
unhurried, unworried
only my children watch clocks

i try to peel this future
dried Elmer's glue, cloudy film
pick edges, curl, from my hand-print

shared laughs & smiles, a separate world
bile pools at my jaw hinges
stomach growls, no leftovers

wrong pill, wrong rabbit hole
cut ropes won't let me go, unfree
i told him, don't bother, i'm no big deal

one word: grade
by t. zoEy benally

black asphalt dumped
mountain side cinched
black zig zag ribbons

white dashes dribbled
drool blips centered
chopped tape worms

asphalt frosting crusted
magma pools, 15% grade
8 meters per second squared

one word: mold
by t. zoEy benally

mold grows inside me
on spaces that should
be coated with red latex
love, black fuzz shoots
spores, seeds more rot

i wonder why i stay?
only to wish & cry for
something that has long
since collapsed, absorbed
by jungle, eroded rio banks

to die, decay, amputate
another small heart chunk
zombie fingers claw air
allegiance memories fade
and i need kisses no more

one word: claw

moose claw
by t. zoEy benally

tightly wound cat paw extensions
DNA probably instructed to change
hair weave patterns on the underside
he used a different knotting pattern
steadily decreasing number of knots
sha'shin, to make the basket neck curve
a comfortable slide up to female softness

tabby striped stretches, they say ants stretch
when they wake up, they said on the radio yesterday
i've never looked at ant leg ends, always assumed
flat table legs, but perhaps they have hands, fingers
spread apart, suck grease into chitin connections
then squish, and finger ends, perhaps armed
curl into dirt, soft decaying leaves, old cheetohs

"Moose" the official Navajo cat name
yelled most often from hogan and unlevel
trailer doors, unless you're yelling "Giddi!"
Moose's smooth muscles inhale, then
release, hydraulic oil drains back, underground pools
her thick unsterilized needle hooks, KOA cactus talons
iced with mouse blood, kitty litter traces, affectionately
dig-------into-------my-------leg

scrambled eggs, November 5th, 2004
by t. zoEy benally

four-four beats, bubble gum
framework propels stupid cupid
shrilly waves bounce off aluminum walls
instant restaurant, just add water

bleached high five, thin pink grins
sport Halliburton, blue mechanic collars
chew thick steak slabs, smeared with egg
"...everything alright honey?" pours coffee

Patsy yodeled crazy ensconces
perm frizz mopped waitresses
Route 66 kick memories, Elvis
pre-pelvis, 1950's Americana

Mama's starched checked curtains
cherries and milk, blood and Elmer's glue
her children are immune again, cure purchased
resistant to carbohydrates, cholesterol and bovine madness

man kind has risen again, adrenaline Rush
adipose filled bellies ascend, wax USA pride
shoulders broad from signs raised, hosannah
return of our king, bump-bump-bump

Manson morphs back to Monroe
black fades platinum, breasts fill
androgynous sci-fi horror lam
milk suckled, drilled and pumped

In God we Trust, global manifest destiny
cause you gotta have faith-faith-faith
they watch us with mirrors, rosy reflections
wonder when we will climb back down

muse, can you hear me now?
by t. zoEy benally

i regularly fall into monkey traps
closed fist an iron vice
greedily attached to delicious
nothings, raw brain on a half-skull
lured by my muse

i dutifully wallow in swamps
emotional misery mire
congealed oatmeal gradually crusts
hardens around subtle teaspoon waist
just for my muse

i eagerly jump into cinnamon volcano
flames, liquid hot magma
denatured DNA
life screamed out
beckoned by ambrosia eyes of my muse

just to feel

just to ride beside

my forever loved
forever hated

muse

i need feedback on this one... i was told it felt unfinished. so i took another whack at it...