Craig Kurtz- Three Poems

TAMPER PROOF

Unlisted is my name,

unscheduled is my home.

I paralyzed my files,

set the toner to flare

& printed antimatter.

I switched the code,

scooped the dead data

into a zip-lock bag

& unpublished

the funnel.

Involuntary is my name,

unwelcome is my home.

I spindled the ribbon,

severed the certificate

& laminated the scan.

Ipseity was cracked,

signatures reversed

& indexes traced

to corpuscles,

fast-forwarded.

Occupant is my name,

atlas is my address.

I ruptured my insert,

scrambled the veins

& substituted registrant.

My larynx is a mirror,

my gender is a xerox

& my cartridge

authenticates

unavowed.

__________________________________

ADDRESS UNKNOWN

Thinking like a poet

causes problems

on resumes

on first dates

at traffic lights

underwater.

Use only as directed.

Thinking like a poet

causes hardships

in supermarkets

in parking lots

at traffic lights

under arrest.

What if the perfect word

was triceratops

extrapolate

autistic

quicksand.

Restrictions may apply.

What if the best idea

was

diagonal

analogue

ungrammatical

void where prohibited

B♭

partitioned

contingent

disabled

ventriloquism

— inexpressible.

Contents under pressure.

Thinking like a poet

is

anoetic

incompatible

unliable

antipathetic

inutile

incurable.

What if

numinous misunderstandings

loved you?

__________________________________

THESE LOOK LIKE MY WORDS

you are reading. Not quite.

Surrogates retrieved from

words you use. Here is my brain

attempting to reach you.

It's an elliptical route.

Emotion map w/ experience

storage. Lifetime of usage. 

Unverified events cannot be

exchanged. Only their

communication transpires.

Take mine. I know only words

corresponding to yours. We

intend alignment of meaning.

Once I say words

they are yours.

We have projections. Under

new management. Inventory

lonely. Meaning reaches

you in ways I cannot

anticipate.

I wasn't there. Schematic terms.

Context at your urging.

I am undefined. Collation

recommended.

I trust you.

Your words amend me.

Equidistant interpretations.

Infinite transcriptions.

The instant it's uttered,

it's altered.

Affinity may be attempting

you. These words are

ingredients, not

equivalents. Copy

& trust accordingly.

Interpretation

implies

participation.

__________________________________

Craig Kurtz lives at Twin Oaks Intentional Community where he writes poetry while simultaneously handcrafting hammocks. Recent work appears in Out of Our, Randomly Accessed Poetics, Penny Ante Feud, The Bitchin' Kitsch and others. His first record, The Philosophic Collage, 1981, was reissued by BDR in 2012. He has been a staff writer for Perfect Sound Forever since 2003.