poetry

Three Poems by Chad Redden

 

Rub the oil on the body after bathing


hello are you anti-aging and youthful people
hello I have a reunion soon and do not know how to proceed
please I’m troubled the house does not disappear and always seems to be
please I want to continue to care in rows because it is important to stack
hello I have a reunion soon and no confidence of appearance
hello I read the instructions and do not understand the body
please I want to do my best and I’m troubled

 

 

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Elevator

 

I assume that all elevators have tonsils
that maybe all of my neighbors are fucking
it’s not ghosts that haunt but supermarkets

 

I tried to write a song about people fucking
the threat of physical violence in flower beds
a mechanical hand unfolding into a stepfather

 

I’m confused by what a get-well card means
the simile of a tree is normal and bearable
the silence of a tree is normal and bearable

 

 

 

Memory Kite
 

What rules prevent communicable
diseases from adopting children?

I lost my memory kite
and feel confused
because aren’t there rules?

I packed my son in a bed of ice
but the heads of hot exclamation
marks periscope up through his skin.

The carpet is full of water.
Everything feels too alarming.
My socks are full of water.

 

 

 

 

Chad Redden lives in Indianapolis where he writes and records his podcast, Dream Guides.