She chases the white rabbit
in the afternoons

plays blackjack
with the doves of youth

her innocence
is colored Pink

her queer dreams
are made of silk

she is the Queen
of sunny afternoons

her heart
is like stained glass

through
which the light appears

and fades


*blackjack - is a card game played in American casinos

The dreaming watch
is always set to one o’clock

                                                                                                 she talks to stones
collects animal bones & birds eggs

drinks green tea
counts the rain drops  
                                                                                          
                                                                       her aged husband always knocks
before he enters her

her younger lover
never does

                                                                                               the Samurai sword
hangs on the wall, expectantly

the dreaming watch
is always set to one o’clock

I found a missing angel today
he asked me for a ***

& then walked away
in rain and snow he has

nowhere to go
& he sleeps beneath

the endless stars
each night his lullaby

is the sound of passing
cars & the voices going by

he likes the girls
he likes the noise

he hides his wings
beneath his shirt

he sings & smiles
amidst the dirt

he dines
on the night air

& hope
my missing angel

of the North

She wakes up at 4pm
leaves the house
only at sunset

she talks
in feline nothings
to her cat

& reads
Rousseau
in the afternoons

10 years ago
the last time
she saw her friend

not her fault,
the distance
of course


sometimes
she goes to the pub
where she doesn't

know anyone
& drinks
half a guinness

comes home
drunk on the night
& it's thousand stars

I summon you Kerouac
from your travels
your sad sofa days
show me the way
to the stars

Beware
this poem
is very long

I'm restless again
six years in the same place

taking refuge in plane
trips to the same place

I look at the Atlas
& stick pins

in all the spots
that she has been

my mother
the accidental explorer

China, America
Japan, Italy

France, Germany
& Spain

rewards
after a life

behind
the Iron Curtain

going on field trips
even then

Mongolia
Siberia

I grew up
in freedom

yet have
never been

past
my past

I'm still chasing it
can this last

Six years
in the same places

Capital city gal
turned small-town child

I want to go wild
spin the earth round

in my direction
change my reflection

feel my feet
on new ground

I'll stick pins
in all the places

I could find
myself in

& write
self-addressed

envelopes
to send postcards in

because
you never know

what the day
will bring