Fortitude

For Ami

With her hands
She stills
The jaws of the lion.

Natural Selection

At every idle moment,
With a finger and a thumb,
I comminute the somnolent,
And I pulverize the dumb.

 

forty-eight days under the bodhi

pleaseforget
me.pleasefor
givemeplease
formeplease.

 

appulse

and the lady? i've missed her
through these asphalt fingers
slow spreading & covering sun dials
shade, chiller-than-thou, maudlin
enunciation of thoughts distilled
and stilled & stirred & always
her, the remainder. detour sign,
follow it a while. forgot where
i was headed, spun a coin on the bar.
heads up, tuck my tail & cringe,
order another; there's a hole in my
glass. heart full of fiery fears
with my hand raised to the lights
from the dance floor slow twirl,
alone & fashionably drunk, a new
year, a new bus route, a new drink
& i now know that i am the wet moon,
the spilling bowl.

all my friends are in the wind
& even the blue moon is hiding not
because she's shy or afraid, but
because she can. because she
loves the space & the power to pull
the clouds about her like a blanket.
at this altitude i can almost touch
them, like reaching up to stroke the
gray down of birds & i know she's on
the other side, rara avis, warm, glowing
& maybe blushing.

oh, one day i'll empty. one day
i'll dry. one day my smile will
light up that whole damn sky.