super.u

what i would give

these memories to

reclaim how our

hearts beat the

same

#katyamills

loss.300

she was latin she was loud 

a mom and proud. they lost 

touch they cannot find her

probably got a new name

a grandchild. they rest

head on knees. the ones they 

loved they left behind and 

now they gone

#katyamills

mission #200

you left a pack of cigs in my car i 

don't know who you are i

left them on the bench on 

the east front of west sacramento walmart 

O two hundred hours

for you

#katyamills

photo.b

cotton blue curtain coins fall out our pockets ona black plastic seat jammed like flowers picked and slotted for our life together shot with two smiles beaming a trace of sadness behind profile kiss for the camera suddenly feels drunk

#katyamills

derailer

 every morning i turn her

wheels up tear a rag off

an old shirt and polish

my fuji. tighten every spoke 

turn the pedals run

the chain across a toothbrush

shine the reflectors. pray

to god today may i not be 

derailed

 #katyamills

tricks

 we played whist 

in the hospital waiting room

to take our mind 

off it

i gave all my 

tricks away

to see you

again

#katyamills

mouth. 25

 how can i get close 

to this mouth full of politics how

can i love this head 

full of venom isn't it sad 

this oscillation of reality 

a threat to human kindness

shouldn't you be against

the law?

#katyamills

hope.24

we showed our teeth to

monday morning we

would not give

up

#katyamills

happy.23

a ghost in my apartment

knocked a pill out of my hand

which fell under the cabinet below the

sink. when i got down to fish it out

they grabbed my arm and happy

twisted

#katyamills  

22.unknown

you cannot know them 

sealed inside an envelope they

will cut you like paper they

are shredded beyond repair

you wish you could reach them you

wish to have them for tea

locked inside a trauma they

will cut you by accident they

are secretive. precise with words

senseless must they be

alone

#katyamills

u should c

 all the darkness 

when the light 

breaks

#katyamills

collector of spirits

she so direct she 

unabashed she so direct

no foreplay. you

overexposed and she 

over you and your

bullshit. touch your soles 

2 the floor get real. she will 

collect your spirits

and stretch them if 

you dare 2 let her 

in

#katyamills

a.venue

fires surround this city 

at the cross of two rivers

in this belly

lives a fire

too

crossing of 

artery and vein

#katyamills

defend us

the lashes defended our eyes

from snowy ashes

in 72 hours across california

over 10,000 lightning strikes

over 300 fires

we dropped orange 

dystopian tracks they 

could not defend

us from tears

#katyamills

heart repairs

my friends they 

all died of broken

hearts 

or traded them in

for junk

i took mine to 

the shop for 

repairs

not what it was

when i first fell

in love but it

runs

#katyamills

loyal.26

the horn section bursting

set up a break against the

fire 

the reeds supple 

like fingers 

even the concrete got

to feeling. our feet 

left gooey indents in

the road

a new kinda hollywood 

where everyone's

a star

#katyamills

111F

 one eleven scorching hot one

ten wasn't enough one 

eleven the power grid got crushed

the block goes dark

all the people complain 

luddite for a night so

what. wired so long

you can't remember your

name

#katyamills

fuck all.14

i wanted change so bad

an end to the dying

an end to the killings

and denial

a magical awakening for those 

who are thoughtless. deluded. without

feeling

i once was the same

fuck all anyone could have done

to move me

#katyamills

11 hearts

today we gave 11 

hearts away

to the fighters

and

a fake smile for the 

disbeliever

#katyamills

sèche

oh forest sèche silent listening silent waiting
skyscraper pines in a circle ina line
give us your dead to keep us
under the axe waiting for rains
this coyote night

#katyamills

mem.ory

the bottom of a well i 

kept drinking. archival footage 

slowly sinking flash drive 

memory 

many moods 

 like sound 

i'm thinking 

take the drive for a

ride to the river. bait it ona hook

cast it out to the mouth

of a bass 

#katyamills

hunting dog

walked out a ways i 

discovered a lonesome hunter

lapping water ina clearing in

the forest

warm ashes still left

from the campfire

long floppy ears you 

spoke to me out of hurt pushed

your paws forward down

into the earth

i awoke to your cry

who left you and

why?

#katyamills

plumas.5am

among the pines

high above a clearing

ex the cell phone

ex the net. ex

communications

we turn the tin pan

blue on a burner

blue the water 

boil we

to the birdsongs

listen

french press and dress 

the dawn. just like those

who came before

#katyamills

wanna.b

headlights deep 

searching the forest

no more streetlights wind 

like a chorus

far away from

all this chaos is where i

wanna be

#katyamills

beat.18

 found the belly 

of a lonely world i

found the heart inside

the belly of a cold

old world i

found the blood hot

rushing. all the girls were

gushing i 

found the beat it

was my 

own

#katyamills

stay.k

heavy

done with it all

lean back. fall

change the station

every 1 deserve

a stay.k.tion

#katyamills

mauritius

fate rolled up on paradise. petroleum 

residuals sliding through tropical 

depressions on the backs of shellfish 

and marine life coming up for air

cracked hull and skulls

a wisp of watery smoke

in its wake

#katyamills

floret

know me
know me not. for i am
but a single floret you
cannot see when aerial
looking down on me
in this parade of
roses. love me love
me not

#katyamills

queen

displays a fan of royal
flush. all the subjects
predicate

#katyamills

space.x.home

passage through incendiary heat
they screamed into atmosphere
deployed parachutes and swung into
a cool sea. no longer reflecting stars
they became one

#katyamills

street smarts before streets

i swept the floors then 

sat down to read
checked my phone 

got a glass of water 

did the dishes

body against land
land against water
the slightest change in pace
direction or 

composition

they were out there

always

looking for the weak one
side-eyed
running desperate 

within a herd

survival depended on
having street
smarts before

and after
streets

#katyamills