power outage 

when all the television are floating
in the river, will you come with me
& light a match inside my skull?
will you tell me i am the moon
even though the moon has been
portioned out for food?
we sat by the black snake river 
& ate our morsels. the moon tastes like
whatever you need. mine tasted 
of rubber & honey. i put the light bulb
in my mouth & dreamed of the sun.
nothing. nothing at all. did you ever think
we would become cave fish?
i saw our memories like shadow puppets 
on the wall of childhood bedrooms.
a sleeping bag eats a childhood whole.
cans of cannellini beans
eaten with a metal spoon.
i had a cell phone for the first day
& we clutched it as if we might
walk through the screen 
& into a digital heaven. then,
it was gone & we walked & walked.
feet turning to hooves & then fins.
whole city in its bathtub. 
fires that wouldn't light.
backyards overun with boots.
the train burrowed & refused
our company. i do not know 
who i am in this raspberry world.
please though, stay with me
& tell me all the stories you used
to feed to the dogs. tell me 
your licorice secrets. i once
was a girl. i once cut locks from my hair
& burried them in the yard 
as an offering to the dead goldfish.