This piece is an autofictional seed for the Autofiction x Worldbuilding submissions call. It inspired this other piece.

southern harm

rabbit, can i just say
that taken abstinence for innocence
and sat me at the kids table
all i saw was tall knees
cute for barracks, really

but you can be autistic and an asshole
you can be andy warhol, for example
still sharks are perfect, it’s not their fault they haven’t slept 
and horses stand their whole life 
nailed in our shoes
never to compare notes
a child could tell it’s not the same
                     ,          anyway
a couple of things unsaid are keeping going in my desk drawer 
there at least till they’re called to front 
there to say what forgetting infects
there counts you in and that’s it

hey hopscotch, hey rabbit, hey thanks
what you give to give to you
that box of things i like about
and how it came to this from that

hey i said i don’t know but you’re right
i let that ghost hang out with me
you scare it off asking why like that
to the corner, waiting for you to leave
to the duncecap simmering
to helpless tells the morning next
that allowance killed the admin star

hopscotch, smell my T-shirt —
it says it’s ok

in other news: a note from the dharma
hi, i’m on stolen cherokee land & my internet is unstable.

i tell you about my houseless years                        
                                & you tell me something about yourself 
                        not you & you too
                                & that’s the worst of the whys
                                & here’s the best:

                          being a dog that’s a cat
                           i walk 4 paces your 1
                         and being a cat that’s a dog
                         try to hold your eye in mine
                                       2 to 1 : I can’t
                                                   hop a footstep left to right
                                              in a lossless schoolyard game
                                                   a stray-to-win benchmark
                                                         some driftwood tally cheers for dust
                                                         young and green and soft to hollow
                                                         a flute for 3 notes close-to-key
                                                                       with without and the gradient
              walk me to infinity
               i’ll bring you a stick