Blades of crocus huddle all the light
taken from my gut while ant colonies
sing harmonies to tomorrow’s soldier
today, & reminds them of the beauty
the peony contained,
contains, but does not enclose & keep
closed. Our child soldiers cannot fit
into their hourglass algorithms
crouched like tender, crenulated stones
under twin trees, the crepuscule sky
peeks in the shallow valley between
knees knocked together.
It’s important to know what kind of vessel
they’re putting you in kids, especially
when you’ve been shipped overseas.
More important, though, is to know
what kind of box you put you in.
The treacling stoney brook grabs
me by the chest hair then asks—
And in my best daniel j flosi:
All these statistics are driving me
insane, and this whole time telling me
what I’ve already known: I’m an average
little hambone, just a pavement ant
hoping to escape this concrete jungle
daniel j flosi
daniel j flosi is a flower with teeth
Cosmic Double 