Acts of Attention: An Abecedarian

Palm Springs (33.830517, -116.545601)
Air-conditioning, bless
borscht, bougainvillea, breeze block candelabra aloe, cabazon
dinosaurs (there’s Desert Shit embroidered on your new cap)
electrolytes and eye drops (two truths no lies)
finches fighting, then a fortnight without bees or wasps,
green grasshopper sings from the inside; G O O D
spelled out on the microwave screen when it’s ready who knows why,
hares and hard water, the hummingbirds’ route, the iridescent
shimmer on scorpions (rumor has it, anyway)
near Joshua Tree we wear sheer kaftans, listen to
K-GAY radio, joyride through Little Tuscany’s big rock energy
we’ll never afford, so we cherish the birds: the mockingbird
family now three the fifteen mourning doves
and dozens more—none judge our naked nightswims, our
ouija-board summons—their perches are power lines
our perch is this desert town for queers planning for a
retirement without social security, despite the
rank smell of the Salton Sea at twilight, babe, we still
have not seen a tortoise in the wild yet we slow
once it was because of the rain, under pastel skies
when we heard vibrant joyous singing from somewhere, it made
me think about the wheel-cart ice cream man who rolls
by at four pm each Tuesday with a little bell
I could get used to all of this dry calm, where
the xeriscaping lures pollinators and the daggers
of Yucca Palms gives shade, so keep looking at Zillow
for mid-century moderns & let’s mirage a future