jitters

i walk around and shake

rebound make myself sit down

watching the quake in my hands

calm as i will myself still

and don’t look anywhere but ahead

or you’re dead metaphorically speaking

from all the mental tweaking of

things you’ve said and not said

i’ll walk up the walls to niagra falls

if you catch me when i tumble down

without a frown with a cheshirecat grin

on my tintype machine what i mean

to say is i know i’m a pest but that’s

not the rest of story of edmund gorey illustrations

and relations of wit to whatnot like a clock

on a cinderblock wall in washington mall

my mind’s out for the day

that’s all i should say right now

while i run away inside and hide

from you and my

embarrassing mouth

it’ll go further south

if i keep

talking

and shaking and

quaking — mistaking

you for future reference

as something i

can’t see you’ll

never be to

me