“Did you hear about the cobra who fell from
a balloon beaming the internet to
a New Zealand farmer and all he did was
check the weather inside and stare at the balloon
from his window then he shaved his sheep
but they were afraid of the cobra and one was even
dead of the cobra” “There’s no way
that’s true” “Oh yeah”
“I know more stories more truer than that”
“So it’s not true about the cobra and
the balloon” “Well of course it’s true
I told it to you” I drive to the store
I see a house I’ve never seen
before “How long’s that been there”
“Month and a half” I laugh because I think
I don’t get out very much now the $2 plant stores
they all sell plums and hydrangeas oregano
thyme and tomatoes impatiens and baby’s
breath and tomato cages but mine’s for a
bell pepper Don’t tell my bell pepper
he doesn’t do shade very well last year
I mulched my garden with news-
papers from 12 leading cities their #1
dailies the sports and the funnies the
first woman mayor songs for dead fathers
bombs to Aleppo a choir of orphans the food
stamp and farm bills cyber-spies hunting
in haystacks of data next wednesday’s weather
some charity luncheon but everything died