Lee Patterson

From I get sad

my dreams are breaking the law. I’m churning tornados in my lungs.
how many people are actually people in the world? this morning I
woke up a gardener: shears in my right hand, sunblock on my nose,
planting urns & growing zombies. I used to have issues with living
but now I just have issues with issues. all of my poems have gone on
webmd & have self-diagnosed themselves as suffering from
dependent personality disorder. I don’t disagree. it should be known
that I haven’t listened to animal collective in a while or ever. please,
forgive me & my silly life. depending on when you read this, the rain
is coming or it’s already here. still, stay, I tell your ghost. the weeds are
beginning to bloom, & I hear someone planted quicksand in the sandbox in the
playground down the block, again.

Lee Patterson's poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Hobart, Sand Pedro River Review, Queen Mob's Teahouse, and Entropy, among others. His chapbook, I get sad, is forthcoming from Ethel Zine in late 2019.