At Tea Time
by DIY Danna
Gilded stilettos pace the American prison floor,
acupuncturing hardwood planks, between
bodies captured on YouTube also waiting
for tea to be served promptly at five,
fists full of Lincolns, awaiting new fall flavors.
 
Long gloved hands …

Prude Danish
by DIY Danna
My last boyfriend in college wasn’t American, he was Danish.
Funny how I remembered him when eating prunes in bed,
editing manuscripts on a Sunday afternoon.
We were undercovers for a few months. I met …

Bureaucratic Blues
by DIY Danna
He complains about pressing 1 for English
and lets me know the honeymoon ended
when his wife cursed him in Spanish.
She hits him on the head with a brick
from the new house of lies …

Your Sister Died In The Fire
by DIY Danna
Your sister died in the fire.
That winter was unreasonably
warmer and drier in Texas,
reaching record highs and a low
chance to rain relief from your heaven.
That hot day in February
the …

Full. Stop.
by DIY Danna
Nothing could stop her from breaking the dish,
dispersing shards, pieces of bruised, broken wisdom–
a sunflower in a dry vase kissed by shadows of thoughts
as theremins play and a man confesses a pure …

vagabond street blues
by DIY Danna
Rubber tire sandals on concrete
after the rain sounds like
diving in pools of pontification
and drowning in the hypocrisy.
The lone brown figure stands plump
and juicy with exciting tales
of listening to a bluesman
on a …

the virgin tattoo
by DIY Danna
His leaving that night with the party girl
was the first sting of a needle
that touched my left thigh,
while the DJ’s damn record kept spinning.
The party girl was a pretty and lovable …

hometown has been shutdown (or, rambling through a post-apocalyptic convenience store)
by DIY Danna
i’ve lived 6 months in this town
i’m half-baked right now
putting back items on the shelf
i don’t want or need – like 2 for …

congenial demands
by diy danna
Picking up the pieces of rubble from a broken
seashell while on holiday with the husband
who demands to know what you are thinking-
about the life you once led as a missionary
assuming the position …

A Loaded Country (Ode to Women’s History Month)
by diy danna
Fires are shot through the cannons. Boom! Boom!
Even hermits clamor out of caves to view the spectacle:
Women soldiers on parade, waving flags originally designed by an …

Time for A One Night Stand
by diy danna
The year was 1969 again, and I was light-years overdue for a shag.
Flying to the nearest bar for a top shelf Margarita IV drip,*
I bumped into the hottest …

communication in stay
by diy danna
I speak to him in silent movies
and the soundtrack is Graham Reynolds
playing funk organ at the Alamo Drafthouse
while soldiers on the screen drop like flies in soup
with 40% less sodium than …

Lovedoll Desperation
by diy danna
Back to back denials of eating flesh
confound love for the young plastic lovedoll.
It comes to life-a civilized cannibal with a camera-
eating raw emotions, spooning heart and liver
to a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack …

aborting dancers
by diy danna
Police conversation, “Where have you been?!”
echos on the wall, tilting pictures of boy and girl ballet dancers.
Art collecting questions seemed endless,
stretching tights into body stockings into twisted nylon ropes.
The late dancer-competing with …

Two Sisters at Union Station (1980)
by diy danna
Waiting for the Amtrak in D.C. two elderly women sit,
bronzed statues on a bench at the station
coming to life with shelled peanuts and gossip.
The sightseeing sisters talk about …

crossing woman hollering creek
by diy danna
the year was 1993 – back to campus in fall.
mother is driving and i’m listening to de la soul
on the walkman – not disturbing the car radio.
on the highway in …

The Second Coming
by diy danna
I thought I loved the coolest guy in Austin once.
Craig Liszt.
He’s on the internet and plays keys,
but isn’t related to that Craig’s List or Franz.
Yet his simple strokes are genius …

The YouTube Unicorn Comment
by diy danna

As I sit here in my cubicle avoiding work and eye contact with co-workers, I must voice my opinion that this song sucks. That little girl needs to wake up …

Crystal Snowball
by diy danna
a girl rolls snow into a shape,
a dented globe the size of a baseball
shaken in the cold froth
of southeast texas air-
making her dizzy again.
it’s suspended liquid animation,
waiting for the snow to …

Love Hurts
by diy danna
Bondage
I cheated on my taxes and my husband,
and blamed a lack of appreciation.
After placing his penis in a vice
to the delight of video voyeurs,
I called an attorney, my new bottom.
Discipline
My new sub …

Another Death at St. David’s Hospital
by diy danna
Feeling the lump on the back of her neck,
She prays to be home by sunrise.
Hooked up to machines that beep in a
funeral march rhythm, like her pulse -
wrists …

what wood becomes
by diy danna
the last time we talked
i told you i loved you and burnt
a stack of virginia woolfe books
in a trash barrel outside my log cabin
to please the fascist lesbian librarian
who wanted to …

an explosion at battery park, 4th of july 2007
by diy danna
there’s an explosion in her mouth-
french vanilla and a pinch of salt after
watching the fireworks from a rooftop
overlooking battery park tonight
before she wakes up to …

music magazines
by diy danna
eggshell pulp and waxy sheets line my cage.
droppings on the latest hipster fall after
consuming seeds of doubt.
my mating call is drowned by the sound
of human orgasms and car crashes.
i no longer wonder …

headshot
by diy danna
She submitted her headshot to Vogue,
a bullet wound through the face
courtesy of Adobe PhotoShop 6.0
and the Editor wrote her back:
“Dear Madmoiselle,
You may need to seek professional,
psychiatric help. ”
Her headshot rests on the table
next …

hello, sunshine.
by diy danna
hello, sunshine.
your carcinogenic smile rays
beam on my weak stomach.
i look up to the ceiling with a faulty leak
for that cold comfort
in fat drips that drops
egret and rejection notices -
the end of our …

Stroking Egos at the Retirement Home
by diy danna
The retirement clock strikes
another hour and a patient strokes,
weathered hands still clutching the remote.
Control is an illusion when she spasms
and her senile husband says
what she’s thinking-
“The children never …

Big Red Sun
by DIY Danna
Will he think of me, when I die?
A glimpse of love in a papillon flutter, and
the heartbeat skips on a sidewalk outside a secret garden.
How can nature be so beautiful and …

you are the professor
by DIY Danna
You can build a Ham Radio out of coconuts
But you can’t figure out how to fall like leaves
Into the brown kraft paper to build a boat sailing
To the U.S. Virgin …

the sound a fallen angel makes when he hits the ground
by DIY Danna
Gabriel’s fingers hit the cubicle.
Clank!
As he whispers goodbye to Donna’s free ear,
She remembers his long, lanky fingers touching her lightly
Then firmly the …