—Tom Waits for No Fire Ants
And then I took all these bits that I didn’t know what to do with and put them all together to a slightly cut version of Biblio’s Fire Ant.
A ship of bones to sail the dead sea
will float as well as any tree meat
and, we’re looking for a ghost ship,
and the gold the legend boasts of.
Brave strangers unmade
by the wages forsaken
on wagers with death
for the veins they are breaking
whose hands cannot stop shaking
who take in the drip
hot from a singed pin
and hit the deck
a bless-ed wreck
A mess of bliss and
blistered vows,
bitterly disallowed.
Get back from that rat trap
you go straight for the trigger
go rat-tat-tat,
don’t go for the cheese
you get snapped for showing up
instead of listening to me.
Another night at the bar
another wish on a star
and I can’t quite remember your name
but the evening is through,
here we are, guess you’ll do,
by your eyes I guess you’re thinking the same.
I’m good for you baby like water or money
i’m good for you baby like bread
i’m good for my word and I’m worth twice as much
and I’m good at the gate or in bed
you’re hiding cash in an open wound
you dog you
right to rot but try to not
maybe instead, go ahead
doesn’t matter what you said
cast a shadow spell of dread
like a flash fire spreads across the scattered
dry desert grasses,
leaving only masses of ash
that dispense from the earth en masse
He casts into the water
hoping to net the reflected night sky,
but only comes up with wet ropes,
off of which he sucks the salt
for some substance of sustenance,
as if he couldn’t survive on his
just his dreams, or the cuticle skin at which he picks.
