poem in the morning

this farmer's tan is not going to go away
all by itself
but what can i do about it?
go to the beach?
take my shirt off at work?
that would not be very professional
and no one wants to see all the little bite marks
on my torso
that i let you give me
when you're frustrated
and in the morning after you leave for work
how i trim the little hairs around my nipples

little poem

and you're sitting in your room
and you're wearing a red blanket
and it's getting darker outside
and you want it to be fully dark
so you can lean out the window
at the night and shake your fist
because it feels good to do so
and pretend that the neighbors
are turning to their spouses
and saying “hey, look at that guy
he's mad at something”

you can be wise and almost whole

i watched a tv show
where a woman has a nervous breakdown
and screams at people in an elevator
then goes swimming with fish
and turtles
she dives down to the bottom
in her bermuda shorts
and bikini top
with her little snorkel mask on
and picks up a round seashell
the size of her fist
and stares at a turtle with the shell
in her hand
i screamed at the computer
THROW IT
THROW THE SHELL AT THE TURTLE
HIT THE TURTLE IN THE HEAD
WITH THE SHELL
in a voice-over she is saying
you don't have to run away from life
your whole life