Mathias Svalina Poems

In the beginning everyone looked like Larry Bird
but everyone did not have the name Larry Bird
& this was confusing. Everyone had a headache
...

I've been through this
before in my imagination,
since you were never predicted
to live this long.
...

I am scared of one night. One night might come upon me while I sleep. One night might kiss me & never unzip its lips. I never try to leave the bed, never try to sit up. One night is always there like a tumor: a drum machine fear.
...

So many suns
clanking
& for each, also,
an inner noise.
...

Blank here, grass-cracked
& babbling parking lots.
Nothing moves
to cross the day.
...

Make a noise
& there is no
predicting
...

It's harder to tell
where the world ends.
I can't think without Julia
so Julia is my mind.
...

You are building a ladder that reaches to the bottom of everything. It goes so deep that it reaches the future & there you find all the people who loved you & you gather them in one room & you ask them questions like What
...

You are an island. People live on you; things grow on you; people build things on you. Half of the people carry compasses, the other half mechanical pencils. You might have to say a few things about love here. You tap your
...