under a gray sky epiphanies linger like frost on the tongue
sparrows taste best when swallowed by the sea
moose live long lives without reading Leaves of Grass
schoolyard sandboxes never forget their tragedies
kerouac’s mother refused to suckle him while drinking brandy
e.e. cummings loved the way vowels shimmy their hips
walt whitman placed dancing girls on his dope scale
congress has outlawed house plants
that grow the color of money
many people have tried to ruin the alphabet
but no one can stop us from writing with shadows