Whitebird.

Look at what I've done, my friend,
I've spoken too soon, been surprised by the end.
Living in darkness you swallow me up,
Light my way, you, when filling my cup.
Searching in twilight, firefly day,
Polaris he marks you, then shows you the way.

Dancing that Frigate with Horizon's great gash
Slowly but falling my nod and eyelash.
To spirit away (and rather intently,)
Thought I was golden, and you went and spent me.

So soon? I ask, and listen to hear,
An answer is spoken but you're already near.

Ah, but far and awaken my darkened friend lies,
To slumber ephemeral before one of us dies.
Stay here with me, the circle unbroken,
Brotherhood, friend: Ship's waters are spoken.

Only Water

At six minutes passed

She called

I was layering on

Blue and yellow

In the closet

It wasn’t that I was late

They were just early

So they waited at the dome

With their backs to Mercury

I walked and

The city slid out from

Above me

I met her and

We embraced like old friends

We abandoned her charges

We searched

And we found some that look like windows

The boat – which I like

Four about our lives and

A gust of air that she’ll suspend

(Along with her mother’s)

The instant she lives-

I took her wrongly

(Later, we learned there was only room for right)

And we flew along

What was bright red

To even more, where we would

Ignore our watches

Or try to.

The damn Starbucks

Was too expensive

But it always is

And we stopped anyway

Because she didn’t want to go back

And I didn’t want her to

We thought

We had separated ourselves-

But not really

It was just water

Only water

That’s all.

These Are The Events Of A Month

Because I needed to collect all

Of what had happened so far.

Both the awkward silence,

The pain that flavored it

Like salt

And the new kinds of joy

That I have now become familiar with.

Each time I sit

(Or stand)

I find myself wobbling

Back and forth between

Two positions

And mostly because

I have to straighten out

My own

Rollercoaster:

All of the people here

Who look like they are

Puppets

Are supposed to be teaching me

Well, they aren't

That's a sixty percent

Or if you prefer, twelve

Out of twenty

Ice cream might be nice

But conversation would be better

And we don't really feel

Like waiting in line.

"We can smell it on your breath,"

"So why would you stab me?"

"How long should we wait?"

"We did like his laugh," and

"That was perfect."

But now I've finally realized

That amazing things happen here;

In bookstores where

Almost-recognized glances

Ricochet between the shelves;

When you whisper to someone

He smiles, but only because he

Doesn't understand what you mean-

You laugh anyway.

Amazing things which

Not only

Come to life

But thrive in the darkness

Of the path between the afterlife of heroes

And Ancient Greece.

25.8.04

We went to visit

My great

great-grandmother

Before I left

As we strode into the room

She smiled,

Because our presence

Made her happy

And relieved some of her

Loneliness

Whenever I watched her talking

I thought about

The roses called “American Beauties” and

Lester Burnham enjoying the way

His grandmother’s hands

Looked like paper

And I watched her

Ninety-

six-year-old hands

make patterns

on her lap

Her son-in-law

Who is more

Handicapped than

Her called us

Two times while

We were there

She had to repeat

Herself since he couldn’t

Hear her, and she

Hung up

On him because

She said she

Had nothing

More to say

But now, she said she

Wished that He would come

And take her tonight

Because she is bored and

Lonely and only

Sits

Waiting for Susie

Or anyone to

Happen by and

Stop in to keep

Her company.

Departure

“Evolve,” I said.
Commanded, even, always
Knowing it was hard and
Still thinking it isn’t.

Beginning now the departure it
Leads me to other places
In my life. I
Know that I thought
I didn’t belong here all along
And I thought I hated it here.
But now I realize that
When you detest something so much then
You still
love it

In a way.