smoke alarms 

i watch the smoke alarms
turn into eyes
one by one. first the one in the hall
that watches me take my face off
& flush it down the toilet
each day. i know in the case of a fire
that at least i will be seen. 
witnessed by some being elsewhere.
almost every place i've ever lived in 
has had a fire next door. the one on
delaware ave when the row houses 
caught one after another. 
this is how stars are formed. the brief horror
of one night stretching the length of
our lungs. in a dream someone tells me,
"you would look better with wings."
i hear the smoke alarm go off 
in the middle of the night. all the eyes 
screaming. i press a finger to the iris.
i tell them there is nothing to see anymore.
one car rides when i'm sitting shotgun
i have to close my eyes. if i leave them open
i'll get car sick & dizzy. when no one else
is home i'll occasionally close my eyes
& feel my way around the house. 
i buy more fire alarms. i stich them 
inside the oven. bake them until 
they are gold & we are so safe that we 
no longer need water. one alarm chirps
& i bury it under the cedar tree. the tree
blooms with nestlings. i do not know
what it means to be safe. the house
stares like a window man. i learn to perform
in all places. search in my ribs 
like a sock drawer in the hopes of finding
a desire i can salvage & fill with air.