“Cherry” – “Leaves In Shade” – “Lake Cumberland, Gethsemane” – “Garbo Laughs”

Cherry.

All the women of the world have liquorlogged cherries inbetween their teeth those holding handfuls of maraschino cherries so gin logged on Monday Wednesday and Thursday Rye logged on Tuesday and Ryeday and a cherry mass on Sunday. Red vestments are in ordinary time. If Dali were alive today he’d be pulled over for a beater mitsubishi eclipse full of maraschino cherries our new century is red and sweet and falling into small hands not suited to cherry holding. Proud commune maidens carrying breastfulls of syrup cherries in their blouses skirts and breasts. The men wade into vats of cherries the men like sundials under a red sun the cherries like virgins bleeding virgin syrup. Cherries aborted and kept in jars a mockery without context. Satanists shave their faces and receive the eucharist for black cherry masses mockery with far too much context. Scientists are finding cherries in the deep sea salt this is why it is getting pinker redder really. Pinker is getting redder. Jackie O ass against the floor back against the slouch of a wall in a hospital room licking her fingers clean of you guessed it.

Leaves in Shade.

Pure leaves resting out of the sun
Huddled together faithfully
They are not refugees
They are not animals
They are not a carton of eggs
They are simply waiting at the bar

Lake Cumberland, Gethsemane.

Crawling up the lakeshore steps, Christlike, soundless
The man broke both his legs jumping into the water

They broke instantly because the water was so cold
So unfrozen, so clear, broken as the mount of olives

Crawling up the lakeshore steps, Christlike, soundless
He wonders “Did any of this make any sound at all?”

Garbo Laughs.

That stupid girl bagged the eggs
With the yellow carnations
And isn’t it nice to

Think of John Wayne
Taking Marlene Dietrich
On the staircases of Rome

Shuffling the flowers like
A budding deck of cards

And cracking the eggs
Along the egg-white bowl

In synchronized swimmers’
Careful increments

Pushing all the stupid girls
Of the world in

— Tom Will is a poet and has a Twitter account