Know thy ledge
under the stand
crawling & falling
built of nerve
in asphalt sweating
murderous curves
by a swerving hand
I bit the farm
and bought the dust
from a blue collar
nose-to-the-grind
approach adjusting
eyes over sand
took a toke on the curb
and witnessed a worm
as it squirmed to the berm
through a gold ear tomb
and a cold beer womb
I smoked all my bugs
at the capstone rate
of a pale horse game
placed late in the shade
with chthonic names
carving chronic pains
in gainful stain
some public trust
from the upper crust
and a tongue for straw
tightly wrapped in law
my sunk cost salt
is stuck to the midst
of a roundabout split
where the shadows choke
on their sunlit yoke
I am smuggling tort
through circuit court
bleeding cortisol
to piss wherewithal
on the paper trail
of a caper fail
I’ve lost all trace
in this stillwater place
crossing sand
with adjusted eyes
beaming & dreaming
with a mindful edge
that knows thine ledge
now overstanding
this understanding
faith & nerve
in buying the swerve
that bites the hand
to feed the land
where I am witness
to the worm
as it squirms
to the berm.