2 Poems by Angelo Maneage

rearview rosary wiped of red with alcohol wipes

then we can’t run. then we
back up without looking.         we hit the gas.
we look at the damage from a safe distance. we wouldn’t
want the damage to get us.
then we talk like we are yawning. we cover
faces at a safe distance. we hit a ball but do not touch it. with our hands up
we are snitches. we tell the kids that green is forbidden.
then we are crying so they know what that is in comparison to something else.
then we continue to focus. then we gain a hundred pounds of muscle
around our hearts. we lose the weight of people and gain the weight of air. we check
damage at a safe distance. we wouldn’t want the damage to get to us—it is
from a fire. we check the rearview and side mirror for disaster. we clip
under our fingernails. we are allowed to breathe.
we look like we are yawning. then we look up. we do not cross the roads.
we look left and right only to remember. we shit
ourselves in our own houses. we think about balloons. then we think
about balloons. we wouldn’t want to damage them.
then we go to the ocean and it feels good in our wounds. we drink just a little of its water then
wipe the rearview and backlight and tongue and the ball. then our ears hurt
and we cough—it is only from the fire.

pizza pie lightning [one]

i would set my hair on fire and hump the chair. once i was
on fire and rolling around and it felt great. now I have chlamydia.

human teeth on hydraulic press is my favorite video
on YouTube. it reminds me of when i am younger

there is this room i remember in this house i was in. there are several
blow up decorations        but they are hard

because i made them up. the grabbers move them to the attic
without much care. rolling down,

lying like the way getting eaten to death feels
when you roll down a flat hill with your enemy’s

interests in mind. when you’ve grown up and even still
keep a chain on your wallet.

Tags: angelo maneage