The Baboon Is Eating Strawberries
The baboon is eating strawberries
expired on the shelf
of the Ft. Bragg Safeway.
A coastal landscape
with waves
like inexpertly torn tinfoil hangs
above his left shoulder
at the check-in desk
of an abandoned motel.
The ocean itself
is only a sound
through a torn window screen
where some hardscrabble bush
about to flower
is just a smell.
Will something appropriately
random please
happen to convince me
reality is still playing
with a full deck?
Copyright Credit: Julien Poirier, "Shimmering Lucifers" from Out of Print. Copyright © 2016 by Julien Poirier. Reprinted by permission of City Lights Books.
Source: Out of Print (City Lights Books, 2016)