J. D. Nelson (b. 1971) experiments with words in his subterranean laboratory. His poetry has appeared in many small press publications, worldwide, since 2002. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Cinderella City (The Red Ceilings Press, 2012). His first full-length collection, In Ghostly Onehead, is forthcoming from mOnocle-Lash Anti-Press. His work has recently appeared in E·ratio, Maintenant, Otoliths, BlazeVOX, and Word For/Word. Visit http://www.MadVerse.com for more information and links to his published work. Nelson lives in Colorado.

the monster inside of the world

pressed into the dirt for a week
the lack of the singing toe

the sheep is the wyler apostle
the leaf is a new iron key

the residential order of the peak lammy
the owl was a good bird for the morning

I took the last carpet ride with the jury
the wool was a risk to me personally

with your smart red buck bug
the back side of the walk is the moon now

the building lies
the shame of the hammer

the ferret of the coy starburst

this is the display unfit for the world
this is the holographic face with the perfect tooth

it cooks in the sad light so you can see the bubbles
this thinking hand is the shallow rex of the pollen

the barrel of possum livers
the yellow wig for the hand to wear

the red earth like mars
the wow club meets on the first tuesday of the month

please write to the sky and tell it to turn blue again
begin the squirrel search

see us up in the air?
rope rash out loud

walking in the wind was a word to light the belly
we were clinging to the world using magnets

frog spock was the only island

mire clump is the tobacco
the chamber of the first dough

the brackish box of frog skulls
cereal milk was the motor oil

after angles is the night of the chair to heepe
strike funnel that number glum

wooded was wilson that charm of cake
a worm of the water

the clam is the shape of the clack
a news fork is the watching hand

the doctor of the sprite method
on the cinnamon train