rock sang hard place

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hulks, decommissioned warshipsanchored in mud, sedimentwashed up lattice habitatshores, coast or on the banks ofSusquehanna—older thanmountain ridges it dissectsfrom orogeny upliftevents when, as part of gondwana,the continent slammedinto the turtle—riversestablished in the flat plainssome millions of years ago—so we stood on the steps ofthe municipal art galleryagain facing west, beforethe monument at TompkinsSquare or beneath the totempole in Oppenheimer Park—present with no feet things onmaps of single place things starsproject a few points arrayin the belly build hurryfairly complicating themapping systems with simpleuse case care and caring onI can never find the rightwords for us—a sip of coolsweet water from the cup ofmy palms under pressurethe hereafter is a hustlemy crow knows the word crow

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bird wings trapped in amber willhear me out free origins—only high fidelityrecordings come from papertoo delicate to play backthrough the player its rollingfingers darting—en plein airplace a muss of trouble intrickles, multiples, sinewsour kind fulfillment promisevigilant light terms, austereagainst reaching venerythat tries to touch the hair. carvedinto the concrete borderszoos to prisons those dear incages under the libraryborders' better sides beneathhospital and holding cellwindows wings trapped in amberfar from shiny condo trackscontaminated underground water habits great lakes'deep sense of time stable shorelinefretwork like a mangroveroot system staves erosionwe became here—on the edgelistening to spotless motherplates giving song, sang hey babyit's your time says everythingbeen ready music shored upchorusing hours on the move