Rhetorics

for Molly

By it we usually mean gnashing

inexactitude of Spirit—words

worked to smite self-pity

sweetheartfirst to the sky.

As dinnerplates work: by shattering.

Or pets: by falling asleep.

But ultimately we call it Work

so that we don’t mean Labor

by accident—there are no accidents

when one labors, are there,

and no Laughter; ultimately

(see?) we become blesséd

and choose not to say at all.

Peter Longofono's poems have appeared in H_NGM_N, fields, Luna Luna Magazine, Public Pool, and Tenderloin, among others. He makes music with Gillian, Continue, and Charmers. He has a chapbook, CHORDS, via the Operating System. He lives in Brooklyn.