From Once a Murderer, published by Wolsak & Wynn in 2008. * poetry is a crime scene waiting to be deciphered
* crime is poetry smeared with bodily fluidsWAYS TO SAY GOODBYE*GOODBYE*[with theatrical grins &whitened teeth, a la "Sound of Music"]all together now: So long,farewell, it's time that we
must leave* with a wet kiss* with a stop sign* by monorail* via Grand Central Canyon* in a whisper* without meaning it* over the phone* in the shower, when you are alone* at 3 a.m.* by moving to another city* by letter* with a dry kiss
* AT HIGH VOLUME* with a one-word sticky note left on the computer* through bitchy poems* by carrier pigeon* through mental telepathy* the use of repetition* in a foreign language neither of you know* poetry is effervescence boiling
down a long flight of stairs
* crime is willfully pitching a person
into that torrent
WAYS* TO SAY HELLO*WAYS) chalk lines drawn from a predetermined spot) a marine rail line running into the water, from which vessels may be pulled in order to effect repairs) modes, methods * cheerfully* at a distance* by megaphone* in the morning* with a nuzzle to the neck* by email to a computer in the same house* with face averted* with white ink on black paper* with a hug* with bacon for breakfast* running to meet one another* in passing* en masse* with a photo* the two of you in different vehicles, windows rolled down, engines running* waving from the deck of an ocean liner* by phone, with no name given* with a fresh-picked rose (pink or red) tucked into the sash* with song