The Brilliant Delusion

next morning    the only hint of the flight face cards
the friend down the hall flew open for breakfast
an impulse that descended into the eternal fire
on the other side of the door     furnace of anyone
each car that goes by adds smoke to it

i used to like driving those things
well over one hand long
heat like weather     ace break
the face above the fireplace its smoke-heightened smile
mouth open the heat of his words the cool never betraying him

purely this one he’d pulled from mid-deck
it’s less bad being young than not being yet
slack     furnace-jawed in adolescent memory
its shadow forming a coat of mink of the ash around him
	all now it’s like a free fall from heaven
inhale their fumes wonder if his breath’s been excluded
the adolescent lung pressure     middle-aged jailsuit breakdown
as each ash presses another hot year into fur
furnace door toothed and open
	i wonder what fire
	flames from the card
	he thinks he’s drawn
this time

from Yew Nork (2014)