talent show for malfunctioning species 

we all watch the fireflies
swell into lightbulbs. a round
of applause for everyone who 
can't sleep tonight. my brother & i
take our opera glasses & watch
as the birds outside try make 
a phone call on a stolen cell phone.
at some point in our lives
we are all thieves. better now
than later. i have been using 
my tongue wrong this whole time. 
learning to cartwheel,
i watched trash cans in the wind.
there is something otherwordly 
in everything but especially our trash.
the theater is empty-seated 
& no one has eye lashes enough
to survive the next few silences.
all i want is to be magnificent.
is that too much to ask?
a knot of snakes are trying 
to write their names.
in the attic i'm still making
a pair of wings i can use
to escape whatever catastrophe
asks for my teeth. no one is clapping.
the spotlight makes a circus
of shadows. we all faint 
like paper dolls. of course i want
people to see me. i want people
to keep me in their pocket & say
"would you look what i got!" 
there's no such thing as 
a ticket booth. at least not for miles.
i take my shoes off to have jumping spider.
at the end of the sunset's stomach
there is another stage of only
trap doors. i stand over one
& wait impatiently. all i want to do
is plummet out of sight.
in the lush underground maybe 
there are legs enough for all of us.
someone takes a flash photo
so i cover my eyes. the flash 
perminantly paints my shadow
on a brick wall. i would like
to be brief. lemmings don't actually
jump to their death, you know?
they just... well yes i guess they
actually do that but it's not so bad
if you pretend they're just 
the strings of a great string instrument.
each plucked open for an apple's worth
of sound. i take a bow & 
wish i was some kind of heron
or at least an animal 
with less digital components.