Alzheimer’s

1

I see the heads of a family
bobbing above the shrubs–
or is it really small people
holding up sticks
with heads attached?


2

a burning shovel at the bar
a boneless leaf in the bed


3

water broke Helen
while diving into lake


4

Helen’s lips
a rain check
purple clouds


5

backyard squares in the summer,
paint thinner, ground cloth, a match,
two dead bodies in one


6

beneath Helen’s dress Pigeon Forge, 
wild boar grind womb 



7

water-spots on the car, a broken arm
in the fence, no, floor mats, a hose,
my thumb


8 

a rock hard enough
fast enough 
not to come back down


9

Bocci Ball with Helen, 
finch feed says let’s have
babies for roaches,
aim off, let her win


10 

black cavity in the ground
sixty teeth and a tie dye onsie


11

racing myself around the pool
and I’m winning!


12

ultrasound flowers
and balloons left knocking heads
in the elevator


12 

and again.


~~~
NOTE: Sean Branson passed away in the 3rd year of his poetry MFA at NMSU. Staley was lucky enough to have collaborated on this poem before his untimely death. Cacti Fur will never forget Sean Branson.