“Launch” by Pierre-André Doucet

seaside
sand bar
tropicalling
where filet of soul meets bodies at work

thrown nets target
self fish   wails
thin dolls
sea fruits
fresh claims   macerated flesh
caulks and seals
lovers   amends   seedcoats
buns of steel

tower top
hub
panorama   panna cotta   frying pan
baking sheet
rotating   (chocolate, granola)   bar
spinning   plates   around
lazy susan
turntable
spinach dip   ground beef   meat market
careful   cuidado   it’s hot

straight ahead
the sun sets
sometimes left
soon   right
or on its stomach
full
deep dish   space cake
a poached eye on a bed of algae
in the court of an hour
the tower of babes confounded by a quarter turn
merry-go-round sunset the table out back
dinner is served

night is fallen
layer upon layer
bringing with it
two-three lightweights
lambs out
should’ve eaten first

some lampposts stretch
fiddleheads   flames   on the sides of their faces
obscure the sky
melt   liquefy
into a sea of hidden stars
aztec soup
under a veil
whet   underwear
subs   six, nine, twelve inches
bathe in the urbane
at least   you’re young
you’ve still got stars in your eyes

don your most sickening look
you’ve shut future-you up
and his protestations
and his hangovers   headaches   regrets
bitch, you look fucking fabulous

the world around sinks
while the tower rises
and the bar spins faster
sizzling high stakes spin the bottle
drink up the chalice
throw yourself   head first   teeth bared   both hands in   ravaging
mmm mmm mmmtsss mmmtsss

                      we can watch the stars come out
                      find out what it’s all about

in night’s pit
far from the aurora
boréales   belles gueules
these northern   light
tall boys   stouts   half-pints
golden   amber   dark
hard stuff   shooters
shooting stars all around
streams of dust and gas and life
at the tail end
on the other line
call waiting
in or bit

solar flare
cute bud   light
but not like cute cute
like woof cute
like canis major hottie   of age   of a queer   of us
like the great bear
like sirius-ly
comestible
come eat me
come eat my   combustible
como te llamas
corey
cumbucket
(come on, as if you really care)
comet
passing commitment
passenger
come on
getting in?

                      you and me together
                      stars forever

buckle up
lift-off
towards a galaxy
far far
a way forward
your place or mine
potatoe potato
blended synapses
fried neurons
milks shaked
boys with a yardstick

belts unbuckled
asteroid shower
orion stripped
across the universe   jerk   chicken
off
to the stars
by the skin of your teeth
on the tip of your tongue
short of breath
feast
on boiling water
pots and pans and cocks and balls
going down
roll up the rim
forward thrust
propulsion   ebullition   emulsion
plateau
fuse   erupt   overflow

into black gravity

weightless
loose
lost
in your way
milky
and the cow cries over the spilled moon

too late
mutter

feel   the chimichurri in your gullet
a gut feeling   racing back
lightyears ahead of you

it’s not   a stellar half-hour
wipe the corner of your mouth
with the back of your glitter-stained hand
taste grains of sugar   lust
stardust   traces of ew
sob to yourself

                      you n meh togeder
                      s’ars fowever

stare puke down   soft serve
a homebody who didn’t want
to come out   last night
your chow
in the white sink   creme   egg shell

hope you haven’t awakened
the beast   whatshisname   oreo    orion

after a while
winded   beaming
choose pride over shame   eggs over easy
bite   chew   dead calm
mix   miss   kiss
braise   and praise
your pollock   your monet   your space jam   your masterpiece
a tableau   a blurb salad
a glittering canvas of faint   comatossed   fallen stars
shredded constellations
found   end to end   glint by glint   in the windshield of an alphabet soup

                      everyone, without a doubt
                      we can watch the stars come out

you’ll spend the day   bedridden
on water
gulping
agraze   ablaze
levitating
evading   mirrors   windows   phones   phonating
void

worry not
it’s only saturday
you   and the night   are still young
a wormhole can’t wolf
a hunger like yours

recover   lost treasures
reach for stars   for fire   once more
fly   again
towards other suns
on wings
of chicken    or Pegasus