Harm or Home You Can Only Make One

why did he descend on her
eagle to little brown wren

beneath his vermilion dives
talons pulling prey from the lake

he wanted a sweetness not himself
when he covered her she gasped

if she flew all day
he found her in a moment

the seeds she found not enough
her own young ravished her warm breast

French Toast

ah my mother used to make it
with eggs and milk
and stale white bread

slid onto a plate with
Log Cabin fake maple syrup
and I always wanted more

to disappear what troubled me
the man under the moon
the man in our living room

make enough spitting bacon
to forget the broken gameboards
splintered bat

missing family car
his vanishings and sudden returns
smelling of other rooms

my mother’s tears
over the stove
her catchy milky breath