The keys By Alex Z. Salinas

Came close last night to

Making words mean

Other than what they mean—

What do words mean beyond

Meaning?—beyond meaning

What do words do? What words

Do what & when do they

What? Do words when when they

What & why do they do what they

Do? Say what? 

How do words mean & why

Do I care?

Where the fuck are my keys?

“Where you left them,” replies I.

I dig The Black Keys primarily 

Because of their name. 

What’s in a name, a wordy funky name?

How many names can I stuff in the garage?

However many I want.

O how I wish to be what I

Can’t & why God gave me

Poetry to write home about

I don’t want to know why. 

Beyond meaning, words are taffy—

The sponsored dessert of the

Parareal parallel to the 

Ultrareal wrapped in surreal quilts 

Knit by phantasms 

Shoving me out the door

Onto the wending concrete

Into the glimmering skyscrapers of death—

Yes,

My keys were always in my hand.

Alex Z. Salinas is the author of two poetry collections: WARBLES and DREAMT, or The Lingering Phantoms of Equinox. He is also the author of a book of stories: City Lights From the Upside Down. He holds an M.A. in English Literature and Language from St. Mary’s University. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.