by Bob Perelman

Wake up,
touch senses
to what’s
out there,
sorting what’s
changing from
what isn’t.

Claim your lane
but be realistic,
use real time speed,
leave eternity
for the fundraisers.

You may not
have been here
when today was built
but act like it.

by Bob Perelman

Once a nimble nanny goat
ate all the shoots

of a vine
but still the vine

spoke back,
Nibble,

detestable beast,
nibble as close

as your fat teeth
can reach.

My stem
is intact

and will make
new leaves, fruit, and more

than enough wine
to baste you nicely

when you are sacrificed.

[from the Greek Anthology, Leonidas of Tarentum]

by Bob Perelman

Every word’s a poem,
but, full disclosure,

whenever I hear
“always”

bang! another hit
to my faith

in the infallibility
of language. I know

it’s not savvy
to take a dislike

to any particular word,
which, after all,

has almost no say
in what it’s

being made to do.
8 billion experts

and working mics
so few and far between.

But always is not
that good a hill

to die on.
Maybe better

to just bring it out
for holiday inspection

and then put it back
with a strengthened sense

of how fragile sequence is.

by Bob Perelman

The big storm that’s blowing in
is screwing with reception

to the point where
we can’t get any hold

on what’s happening
without clicking through

seas of spam where
no password is secure

and there’s nothing to believe
but our lying eyes.