HYPNAGOGIC BOSTON
by the little screen
where I lie with the dogs
and live with no drugs
and ponder the ponderosa
beneath this heat where
my flaming feet repeat
the steps I missed
the first last time around
a lossless ratio stations itself
on guard against the density
of imperfected memories
I send postcards abroad
to mister & missus god
asking if clarity begins at home
and hope the answer’s no
I know the script’s too cryptic
to decipher aboard this floating horse
tell the doctor when to expect
my corpse to arrive by riverboat
slowly befitting my dignity
from Power Ballads (Wave Books, 2016) by Garrett Caples