Eric Dutton

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A friend of mine
mailed me his liver
with a note that says
"The rest is soon to come"

I kept it in the crisper
until he mailed his ribcage
and then I set it in the corner
cradled in the bones

The notes became sad
and the handwriting poor
since he mailed his right hand.
I waited for lips, to explain

He is by the book shelf now
in a pile of postcards
propped up on his hips
with the one leg I have

His lips came today
and I set them on his teeth
They cried for a while, then said
"Where are you? Nothing! Not a word!"

Eric Dutton has hosted a monthly open mike at the only coffee shop in Pittsburg, Kansas for about three years. It draws between 20 and 50 per month. Having lived in Portland for a year and a half, he gets homesick for misty drizzle that Pittsburg offers only on rare occasions.

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