Michael J. Vaughn
bio

Normal

I saw her at a Fellini festival
wanted to say how sorry I was

But realized it was like talking to the pitcher
about the home run

She'll never cross a street without snickers
whispers
pinhole leaks of our unacknowledged desires

I handed her a glass of punch
on behalf of America
and said, "Did you like the movie?"

She smiled and said
"It was odd, wasn't it?"

I said, "It always is."

Shuffle
(credit: co-authors Robert Pesich and Anne Gelhaus)

Why should we listen to the newborn
crying in the next apartment?
He'll only grow up to be a jazz pianist

The bandoneon exhales smoke
the Creole taking over
water over wheels

A train
rips through the Wasatch
the Salt Lake dreaming of snow

But the desert dreams of April
and a hollow traveler knows
how to eat stones

The night's embrace
the neighborhood dog
Morning rises like a copper compass.