P E R S O N A L S

                               by    C . D . W R I G H T

                                                                          some nights i  s l e e p  with my dress    
                                                                                                                                                        on.




                                         my teeth are
                                           small
                                           and
                                           even.




                                                                 i don’t get headaches.




             since 1971 or before,
                          i have hunted


                          a bench where i could eat my pimento cheese in peace.




                                                                                           if this were tennessee and  a c r o s s  that river,
                                                                                                        arkansas,
                                                                                                                 i’d meet you in west memphis tonight.




                                                                                                                                  we could have a big time.




                                           d a n g e r,  shoulder soft.




                                                        do not  l i e  or  l e a n  on me.




                                                                                                                                               i’ve seen people
                                                                                                                                                                                      die
                                                                                                                                                                                      of money.




                                                                                   look at admiral benbow.




                                       i wish

                                       like certain fishes,

                                       we came equipped with
                                                                               l i g h t  organs.




                                                                 which reminds me
                                                                              of a little known fact:


                                                                              if we were going the  s p e e d  of light,

                                                                                                                                        this dome would be shrinking
                                                                                                                                        while we were
                                                                                                                                                                                            g a i n i n g
                                                                                                                                                                                            weight.




                               isn’t the road crooked and
                                                                              s
                                                                              t
                                                                              e
                                                                              e
                                                                              p.




                                                                            in this humidity, i make repairs by night.




                                                   i’m not one

                                                   among millions

                                                                who saw monroe’s face in the moon.




                                                                                                             i go  b l a n k  looking at that face.




                                                                                                                                                                                      if i could afford it
                                                                                                                                                                                      i’d live in hotels.




                                                                                          i won awards
                                                                                                                  in spelling and the australian crawl.




                 l o n g  l o n g  ago. grandmother married a man
                                                                                              named ivan.




                                                                                              the men called him eve.




                                                                            stranger,

                        to tell the truth,
                                                                            in dog years
                                                                            i am up  t h e r e.