SIX POEMS by JOE MOLANDER

DIY Poetry Kit (English edition); Big toenail clipping; Just before I went off to college, I would go out into the city and do stand-up at open mics. It took an hour to get there either way on a freezing cold train and none of the other comics ever wanted to talk to me. This one night I bombed so bad, I hid my head in my hands the whole ride home in case I saw someone from the audience. The next morning, I found my dad gardening, fighting a losing battle against Japanese knotweed. When he raised his arm in preparation to swing it back down, I noticed he wielded his machete in the exact same way I had held the mic stand. Alternatively titled: Haiku; My words are abandoning me; Black poppyseed for parakeets, White knuckles for pigeons; Apple