Pluto (after Prize Winner)

it’s not the coffee nor the twitching leg

it’s not the after glow of a dog that begs

it’s not displaced, but regular

 

the way each three a.m. path

loops back on its tail

crosses other paths

ratchets the guessing and worry

to TV game show status

 

it’s the edge of the solar system

it’s the Oort Cloud antibodies

it’s the cost per object, per objection, per diem

[RK, 10/14/2020]

 

Stone Thrown in My Path (after Centerpiece)

handfuls of white and earth tone shells

a fish skull soaked in bleachy water

denuded but for scores of barnacles

I swerve around the bucket

in the middle of the kitchen

[RK, 10/14/2020]