The Poetry of
Michael G. Khmelnitsky

Come in my house
as if an errant ghost.

Ruffle my sheets,
unmake my tidy bed.

Take one framed piece
that I might miss the most.


Hang up each thing
in my closet out of order.

Water my plants,
while caressing every petal.

Burn all my files,
but especially my poems.


Turn all the lights on
when the night gets dark.

Go through the back door
in my least-worn boots.

Tell Mabel that you
love her dearly


when she begins to bark.