JUKE
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JOINT
Strange Gathering [2]
We all need & we all loiter. Man,
I miss being on a train. The time’s different
on trains & we’re better. It’s weird
when we can tell that
we’re moving, not like on planes. Up in Maine,
all those loons. I love
a good birdcall in the morning. Herons, et cetera
& something about waking up w/ a woman
or person of indeterminate gender
standing over you w/ a cup
of coffee in a blue button-down
& nothing
else. Material things: they matter
& they don’t. The hornet, the honey,
dusk & drunk, or
not. How
are you feeling? Your buttons
look loose.
after John Berryman
Strange Gathering [8 & 9]
​
The weather’s fine, thanks
for asking. We don’t ask that often
enough anymore & I love your green
hair. There’s nothing to see
around here, is what they’d like you to think. But
we know about windows open &
sheets sticking to skin. Contrapposto, rococo
et cetera, YOU. Standing in the doorway &
it’s like a tornado in here. You’re about
to be blown. They call it
the high wood
& we know what that’s about
in the morning. We’re at a standstill—
too hot to get dressed & too hot
when we’re naked. Stuck
in our own crocheted
web, all strung up
& spidery.
after John Berryman
Tyler Friend was grown—and still is growing—in Tennessee. Tyler is extremely uncomfortable generally, but perhaps a bit too comfortable with kudzu specifically. They are the author of Him or Her or Whatever (Alternating Current Press, 2022).