works by w.pham

works by william pham, 2005-present
What ghosts and savage beasts

What ghosts and savage beasts on the leather couch
of an apartment located downtown on crumbs and stains,
what dust of bedtime stories remain in the humidity
of a city a city a city strong and proud?
We press push and increase incrementally, increase
the crease by refusing to wash the jeans and
we know the power in a name,
we know the power in a name,
and I'll watch the tentative reach toward the purse
and the things you hold inside, each thing a quest
for kings or queens, your golden cures and
bedside lures, I'll hold them all in turn.
Half-awake in the heat I will touch your neck.
This is the most intimate gesture I can imagine.