Sky Contains the Plans

Matthew Rohrer is the author of The Others (Wave Books, 2017, winner of the Believer Book Award), Surrounded by Friends (Wave Books, 2015), Destroyer and Preserver (Wave Books, 2011), A Plate of Chicken (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2009), Rise Up (Wave Books, 2007) and A Green Light (Verse Press, 2004), which was shortlisted for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize. He is also the author of Satellite (Verse Press, 2001), and co-author, with Joshua Beckman, of Nice Hat. Thanks. (Verse Press, 2002) and the audio CD Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and The Next Big Thing. His first book, A Hummock in the Malookas, was selected for the National Poetry Series by Mary Oliver in 1994. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches at NYU.

• Everybody's relation to change in the sackThen he was thrown out of Espresso RoyaleDid you eat your blossoms on time?It will seem like nothing happenedWe probably shouldn't be discussing thisThe zipper-upper or whatever –here's yoursThis is my challenge to youConserve-a-lawyerThey kidnapped AlabamaI wish a fire would destroy that whole neighborhood so they could start overIt's under oathYou don't think there's going to be a world of motionSlam the word to make it prettyWe waited in his plant now 2 to 2You're consuming darknessOne navy paintingWhere are my other planets?It's not like I have his death on my footYou've got a hollow lookThe rocking horse said family desireNever lights as dim as SaraThe canoe is not sitting up by itselfHe fell on his ass he might have been capturedWhat shall I do 42-71?Yesterday could do a better job of explaining that than I couldThe coughing brings me back to level oneIf you saw me you'd be swallowed by a yellow busSo Now I Determine She Was A Selective VictimIt was nice to sleep with him as a young girlBut when you were counting you skipped 6, 7 and 8Alright smell your fingerI visualized that idea leaving my head in a bathysphereA toy spaceship called Almond ChickenMy name is Tromas NeebarSpoken creasesPoetry can be a weapon of warBrief, almost microscopic attempts made on my lifeYou look vintagePre-linguistic-mysteryAs I step into the chamber of our imagined loveSeahorses are awesomeYou will notice a faithful block of cheese is presentHypoallergenic condominiumBut that isn't really the threat of nostalgia, is it?Between whose human rocks I layHe seems lost to a partisan girl.It was one of the blooming complaints of my campaignThat seemed voluminousTry to go away and lie in bed simultaneouslyIf you're going to be a charming off-the-top-of-your-head guy, then do your workBuilding up to it is actually betterI follow art—it goes places and I come with itI was warned I might be losing her another peasantThey're an empty space whose intrigue is just thatThis home is the lightPenetrated into the dreamFeathery wood fiendFamilies sharing music with each otherYour dirty little beard is like a runwayYou can't have 2 power sources in your car because they would interfere with each otherA mundane hideoutI created their career information for themI only smoke cigarettes on your rotationI'll slit your barrelDragging a metal thing right to your front doorThe best thing she knows about going to banks is where they areRediscovering the baby's lecture presentationIf you eat this cookie I won't let you in to paradise.Author's NoteAfterward