Shelter Skelter


burning not mine
co-opts my wardrobe
sky removed rain from its dictionary

colors we euphemise--
not to their face
a tease of clarity
a promise of synonyms

the same shirt in 100 different fabrics
your new house paint has to be unique for 3 blocks around
houses sprouting from the mud each spring
red & orange attack in october

as if snow was all colors
cleaning the street after Pride
from color to collar
from the yellow city to the red state
a river of toner, a lake of naked easter eggs
one sun following the other, a second moon for weekends and holidays

across the line is yesterday or tomorrow
before fire was at our fingertips
when true darkness more chemistry than shadow
the more people you put in a cave the brighter it gets
all those thoughts and CO², the bitterness of radon

you can tear down a house
but its crumbled soul will infest whats built upon
cross bred into apartments
doesn’t matter how small its mine
a loft without walls
a murphy bed, a murphy kitchen, a murphy bathroom
air filled walls instead of plaster
clear ceiling so the floor can stay green


Dan Raphael