Four Poems: Andrew Howes

the tooth-fairy will revise your poetry First draw the tooth-fairy in; small stones of wet sugar should do fine. Leave the first poem after the second day. Let him understand your wants. To create the uncreated conscious of your race; or, to get laid more often. Whichever it is, he will understand. Leave a pen, tooth-fairies hate the pencil, hate its grubby blackness, its yellow-wood shavings. Ask for advice as you can, for the tooth-fairy has hold of all answers. When your meetings are finished, always bribe your tooth-fairy – buy him some animal teeth. or bring to him the crinkled white envelope where your mother had been hiding all of your babies, and each of your long-lost wisdom teeth.

Dairy Queen, last night of summer You there long-bodied children, with your soft serve and your marijuana cigarettes and your long nights working; Where do you go? Your eyes seemingly black and your Ruddy cheeks, Adam’s apples, polos did you did you crawl out of the surf and if so, how did you step away, for this moment from the fire?

I was the torso of the hidden hunter a heart attack and all the others they carried away; the wolves, the vultures, and then finally the worms. I, they passed over, inexplicably; Undragged, unbitten. Un-tunneled through. My senses are limited; touch, my central pillar. But I was surprised, (delighted,) to discover my ribs, my navel, taking in the smells of damp leaves, tree skin molasses, laughing at the tastes of the earth.

torso my torso steps back before Columbus; ashen, unforgetting; interminably brave. a soft-footed warrior, drawing arrowheads from the surf; spun cloth from wool; small stone blades from sand and water. the Indian promise, covenant with the great spirit: we shall be so proud the uncertain air before us; wolves made companions at our side. and in return we shall be beautiful, eternally graceful, a black locust bow raised up to the sky. to us this is fair. we posture, shift in place; stand up tall as we may.