Emil Foust

in dreams i’m stealing scrap heaps
assembling rowboats
and starting ghost tours
nicknaming landmarks
sprouting umbrella silhouettes
competing with sunsets
and serving apple pie at bed time
lannie has a freckle you can see
through the sheer of her underwear
where constellations to be charted
emerge with daylight
in dreams i’m pushing rowboats into wading pools
puddles big enough for your average squirrel
to be weary of
the shore’s a sandbox
where would-be kindergarten lovers
shared crayons once upon a white fence discussion
in a hypothetical past
that never existed
lannie’s face may never divulge all her secrets:
a uni-verse
is the one odd song lyric
that she will quote in her letters
to: in particular persons
with anonymous encryptions
a universe
is a place stars go
to jump rope and drink tea
in dreams i’m watching a dandelion grow
when it turns white and dies
i track where the wind blows
not wanting my wishes to get stuck on poodle sweaters
or in joggers’ hair
lannie sketches a naked woman
while everyone else draws rose tattoos
i found her stash of beer bottle artwork
stuffed with napkins that captured all her meticulous
drunk episodes of: this moment in my mind
each tagged: to be shattered upon my death
my best
love lannie
in dreams i’m lending paperbacks to beach crabs
reading letters wrapped around surprise centers
unraveling words like a tickertape dispenser
and reminding me of hair ribbons
i’m pondering antiquated brevity
my friend’s inherited mercedes convertible
my math teacher’s calculated short skirts
and a bakery named for a misspelled street sign
lannie’s waiting
contemplating a candy cane