shape shifting 

we swallowed plastic bags for lungs.
felt their billow in each passing breeze.
i called us "parking lot" & we waited
for the impending mega bus mirage
to land full of knees. a single goldfish
woke up in my throat. glittered & 
sent me his scales. the first day i was 
amphibial all the water wanted 
was a little kiss but me, i needed
drenching. my gills made of soda tabs.
what does it mean that i spend so much time
switching out organs? a bouncy ball 
for a heart & now a lovely silver bowl stomach.
i'll get bored of them eventually though 
& pray to the dumpster for what else 
i can use to function. when i say 
"recycle" i mean i want to try over again.
hatch in the ether & relearn how to say 
my name. try each toe on for size.
in the asphalt we planted corn 
& it grews into stoplights. blink red-blue.
purple always asks too many 
of the right questions. television host
making promises just for me, saying 
"if you buy this new vertabrae you'll 
believe in god like only children do."
if we could just lay & look at mixed vegetables
making their rounds overhead. let's name
our first child "echo." let her split
in two & spend our time parsing her body 
between the skin & the ricochet.
when the lungs filled with water 
i poured them out in the backyard where
the bobcats have too much free time.
they played games on their electronic devices
& ruined their necks craning to see screens.
bother me please with you dream muscle.
a raft appeared in the middle of a drought
just to mock us. what i would have given 
to ride down artery towards body. 
it's all a series of skin circumferences.
earth needed a hair cut & you & me,
we needed floss & a hammock maybe or at least
a ball pit to land in. don't tell me
you didn't also dream of merging 
with the weeds. up to our necks 
in mulch-fracture. breathing in exhaustion.
we will make brilliant traffic cones one day
or at least stop signs. walking hand in hand
you told me the story about the rat 
& the free clothing bin. then, all night
all i could think about was whether i should
become a rat or rusted vibrant potential.
opened my mouth. let my lungs say "hush."