Angel of the streets
demon in the fortress
Darkness hides the garden
Grace a fallen wish

Voices in the alley
pleadings last communion
Wings that fight to open
— fire on the wind

(The New Room: October, 2024)

In the bowl, you'll find the golden fish
Living for your entertainment, it swims, swish-swish

You stare at its sparkling scales, golden-rich
And it continues to swim in circles, swish-swish

You take the fish out with a twitch
But it can't get out of your grasp, swish-swish

You pull its scale off and give it a squish
But it stops struggling, swish-swish

So you plop it back into its enclosing dish
And it resumes its swimming, swish-swish

But you want it to stop swimming, it's an itch
So you stab it, and it stops, swish-swish

It could never get its last wish
As it falls to the bottom, swish-swish

In the bowl, you'll see the golden fish
Dying for your entertainment, it sinks, swish-swish.

I come to life
of the living
through you
I see a light
Lay my soul
naked to fight
swallowed alone
I am coming home.

Chairs in the room
Vacant
Because
Alone
Requires
Emptiness

On the table
Papers
Requiring attention
Strewn to the side
And left
Alone

Fire in the hearth
No one
To watch it

Empty room
Amply furnished
Ticking clocks
No one
To listen