A Letter From Hammertown to Fort Tryon

My exoskelton
protects my tongue

but leaves my
hindquarters exposed,

if only to the weather:
my country,

created by the dry stroke
of a Whitehall pen

for the benefit of haberdashers
and fishmongers

saw the draft resisters
as a rich source

of mental pelts
for acid testing

and the carbonation
of Lake Erie,

Vancouver was the
first city

to banish Lenny Bruce
ship back the Sikhs &c.

& skim the foam
from the cappuccino triangle

so of course
we're funny--its what

we have
instead of checks and balances, what

allows us
to coin in the shit

with a smile
in a dome

of bearish lavender
while pivoting

our ju-jitsu
ever inward.