Art Reality Freshly Preserved, Produced and Tinned in Milan, May 1961

hung in the shadows
on the western wall
emerald cone boasting corona
of dipped lunatic cotton fails
serially with each attempt
(once every three minutes)
to intellect through short
dire sentences despite being broken into
labium labrum maxillae and mandible
the discourse remains functional
powered up and spread warm butter like the sun
like the museum’s most popular gallery
quantitatively as the reader fails
to consider commerce here the radical mage conjures
a million jerry saltzs dehydrate mutants
no geiger counter for this
kind of subjective observation
through a starbucks window
clearly the majority look onward and upward
while elements class traitors sift
form from function and some nonzero number
of postdocs see a leg and writhe in pain and some
nonzero number of highly marketable postdocs see a shark
skin wallet and movement becomes impossible
consider minus zero as a vector of possibility

a long time ago lived a lengthy brass ladder
known for lying who unscrewed
an exit sign named piero manzoni
the ladder was high as fuck and craved a little zappo
critical discourse emerged simultaneously from the academic journals
commonly read by building inspectors
widely known to be bad men damp
men with all sorts of wicked contradictions hammers
hardhats marshmallows cargo shorts and bibles held
to account hauled up by their judith butler-lookin lobes
tonight is the night it is impossible to judge these men
at this hour but long ago judges went unmoored
a mythological tap of little sausages enticing a blue arc
back then everything was faked
everything was cheated an ounce or two everything
surreptitiously observed and tweaked
their values modified until reality
felt just about right

without transubstantiation of the aphid
this reality slithers from open space to open source
its brand much improved especially popular
among college educated white liberals aged 18-24
who earn each rostrum feeds then snaps predictably
with a super majority obeying basic digital commands
retweet unfollow promote accept all
the role of the curator has changed
for the wurst since wuhan

impish discursive corona dip
thineself ankle deep
into serious intellect
unbreak your reader
fall from function
into a nonzero bouquet of legs
move only when movement becomes impossible

my love
uploaded virus
unlocked door
can of the artist’s shit
save my planet
one salsiccia at a time


Contains a modified line boosted from VFX artist Matthew Wilde in Simone de Rochefort’s article “Why the bottles in Half-Life: Alyx look so dang good,” published Jan 6, 2021, on Polygon.

Young Girls Bring Parsley to My Shop

Wikipedia Poem, No. 537

“… and (watch) as I (grind) / coriander, garlic and calves’ hearts.” August Kleinzahler

poetic form he searches for solace in the poetic     form 
arches for something like constant discovery outside    
e poetic form he searches for something like           cons
  discovery outside of the poetic form he searches for so
n the poet's understanding or comprehensionnt discover
side of the poetic form he searches for something like co
t discovery outside of the poetic form he searches for    
olace in the      poet's understanding or comprehensionn
overy       outside of the poet's     understanding or comp
sionnt discovery outside of    the      poet's understandin
 or comprehensionnt           discovery outside of the poet
     he searches for solace in the poet's understanding or
ehensionook for something   like constant discovery outs
he poetic     form he searches   for solace in the poet's un
nding or comprehension or comprehensionnt discovery o
of the poet's understanding   or comprehensionnt discove
ide       of     the poet's understanding or comprehensiono
omething like constant discovery outside of the poetic for 
 searches for solace in the poet's understanding or   com
siontanding or       comprehensionke constant discovery 
of the poet's understanding or comprehension comprehe
discovery outside of the poetic form he searches for som
ike       constant discovery outside of the poetic form he s
 for   solace in the poet's understanding or comprehensio 
very outside of the poet's understanding or comprehensi
covery outside       of the poet's understanding or compre
nt discovery outside of the poetic form he searches for s
g like constant discovery           outside          of the poeti
e searches for something   like constant discovery      out 
e poet's    understanding or comprehensionnt discovery o
 the poet's understanding       or comprehensionnt discov
de of the poet's understanding or comprehensionnt disco
side of the poetic form he searches for something like co
iscovery       outside of the poetic form he searches for s
 the poetic form he searches for solace in the poet's und
ng or         comprehensionke constant discovery outside
oetic form         he searches for     solace in the poetic for
arches      for solace in the poetic form he searches for so
he          poet's     understanding or      comprehensi the p
derstanding or comprehensiontanding or comprehension