Boot Camps

in the youth camp
in the archery ranges
i take aim just past where i can see

in the moonlight
i swim across the lake
to meet my girl with the indiscriminate hair
to fish out carcasses of lacklustre love
they left in the lake for us
to ponder over like good students of nature

in the schoolyard
the parking lot
i hesitate to watch you get out of a car

in the bleachers
behind the playing field
i crouched down with a girl much shorter than me
she says an old-spelt truth
and cracks and says, "did you see the game last night?
it makes me wish that i could be in a class on chemistry."

but i'm too young for the physical science
so i just acted for compliance with her

i'm quite helpful for providing the quiet
i got short busted, i'm good for this sort of thing
seeking out the small and insignificant things
that someone had lost at night
while they were throwing up safely out of sight from me