While waiting for a single stone to be placed
1.
Not seizure, motion -
the butterfly's flit of wings in the breeze,
without specific direction,
with only its flight as the key.
2.
Shadows lie in wait for me.
Even the dark won't dispute the reach
they make with their limbs.
The mystery is in temptation. Friends
speaking behind your back, knives out,
quick stabs, then a lapse
into compassion. A flower that opens
then shuts, a prison of petals
beautifully rough in embrace.
3.
Avoidance is absence
mollified, stifled, the empty resistance
of the hand sweeping past
and finding no match for its strength
no antagonist. Covered up
and forgotten in the wake of this movement
she lurks behind in the stillness.
Come play! she begs.
4.
Yes, he cried. I saw the tears.
She doesn't believe because the words
were not hers: spoken to the whirlwind
with her voice of open sores.
How to explain the sadness of men
to this girl child of mine?
That not all speech can be heard?
That even male eyes can sing about loss,
have regrets no voice knows?
We have our prayers, her and I,
and a certain comfort that is,
but what does he have
within this body enclosed?
Only my skin against his, shoulders abreast,
the touch of our arms
fingers, hands - the texture of this.
5.
My tasks no longer put off, I celebrate
under sun, under clouds,
the sweat which cools down my skin,
the high ceilings of stores I walk in,
the filtered glow of trac lights,
all the stuff on display when I look about.
The pleasure I see of a young man at work,
selling to me what I want,
is my gift, and I get back
his self-satisfaction. His competent face
the sure sign that life
wants to find grace, forget grief.
Payment's on credit.
I don't have the cash.
6.
My sister says I've known worse
and I don't argue the point.
But it's not the blow of the hammer
when what shatters is glass.
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Previous Posts
- Without any edges what wind there is keeps sile...
- I have two coffees at my desk: one that's cold,...
- the things I know now I see it in him: the I-m...
- I've dropped the bleu cheese dip Now its just c...
- I have two coffees at my desk: one that's cold,...
- the song of loss and hope dogwood trees snow wh...
- Unspoken Time to go shopping, the list is made...
- The nest over the lamp outside has more twigs t...
- pale blue sky, power lines, trees and pottery ...
- thoughts catapulted by carrots and bleu cheese dip...
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home