a circumstance’s effect, as much as each sewer
reeks of when its mouth open
every weakness raises from the sour steam
so as the cut discreetly made to swell the rust’s sore spot

a pathetic end’s walk around a large iron plate
where fixed ideas make their way round amidst residues

parlour tricks were being exchanged for careworn joint owners
in need of taking chances on a rainy day
they feel the heroes of the hour

every weakness includes this surface

the pulse of kilometer-like noodles is being checked out
every structure, measured out in inches
every car, driven fast the night before last
just as a polished ballot box hungry for votes
on the road, a Te-Deum for no particular candidate

(far-fetched projection in my naïveté)

every escape from the witness box, measured out in inches
in the other corner I take the underground’s lid and cover the world
with a sentence


(imprudent exertion within my liberty)