Nicolas Teixeira: 2 Poems

dear uncle sam, or rated x, or you ain’t woman enough, or another one’s on the way

after Loretta Lynn on The Muppet Show

it’s a chore

it’s a chore to read
another chore

the light above her head needs dusting

it’s such a chore
it’s nothing

no no it’s nothing really 
i’ll just add it to my list
no trouble at all

it’s a pleasure to read

the light above her head needs dusting

& this right here
that’s the

slot

i’m sorry
i was just in such a rush
but no
i’ll look at it
look at what you did
what you caused

look 
after the fire is gone
that’s not your baby.

the aunts were relentless trying to make the sentiment work
          but you’ll never be as good. go pick up 
time table to catch train to plane station @7
          —it’s this show & there’s puppets & poetry & 
well now everyone knew all along you’d catch on

          slot is country & you lost lots of your friends there 
along a long ago there.  all your friends traveling 
          the light— 
                              E X T E R M I N A T E !

DIAMOND SEAHORSHOE BLUE

after Linda Lavin on The Muppet Show

...mighty-cold government told ur boyfriend he had to leave ur life.
forced to start over. brave in another country. & u would be left
alone. nervous & upset, u told ur self, self, it is the time you have wasted
for... such a nobleman! who wants u to finally see you’ve got possibilities...

let’s hear it for the boy—all u knew was what u were told w/honor— 
that the venom of the toad is the same chemical released when u 
die. u were afraid of death\fabric of men in timed blues after Mr. 
WANTED amphibian, who fibbed wild ride to tear u apart to hell 

to be more. 4 ur maniac, & she’s dancing like never before. u made wish— 
eat the frog & don’t collapse in depression confused under the new 
control. before he left u, u did as he asked & u went east to a beach
w/his circus friends & u smoked Amazonian DMT for ur first\last

time. u had no shaman but ur man & all u could feel was the 80% 
of u that is water. u stripped to ur tighty-whities & dove into the 
heaven is a place on earth azure ocean waves of water turnt electric— 
​blue beams travel out beyond jolly fellow engine network horizon.

u would die 4 u & u felt juked up to every thing. later, u find out folks 
drown on the drug & u feel lucky ur star was there w/u. there. on beach
animation. u felt ur love as his, knowing he would be gone soon. outer
space connection/together. u cuddled & all of u all fell asleep to dream.

u dreamt u kissed nasty frog, who became a prince who wrote wish poem
u wanted. words u heard went silly-shaped as the sea network u had seen.
it all ended, roused up by a police officer on a horse as she told u to wake 
up! ur not allowed to be on beach in ur underwear w/messages in bottles.

Teixeira (@muppoet) is another queer artist living in New York City, where he obtained his MFA. He currently teaches at Grace, bartends at 3 Dollar Bill, and blogs at muppoems.com. He has some work published or forthcoming in ArLiJo, Surfaces, Yes Poetry, Juke Joint, Office, Counterclock, Selcouth Station, and elsewhere.