It takes a long time
To burn out an old tree stump
Aged beyond measure.

The song says I will
Touch you in four places.
Unbearable. Memories.

Is it only a
Poet who can see through her
Tears and keep writing?

It is hard to look your best
When you are dead,
But they don't seem to mind,
With their tears and memories,
And plans for tomorrow
Changed.

Golden light warms
hilltops above our valley.
Campfire smoke rises.

Can the camera and the poet capture
What the mind cannot see?
Is the 'candy cigarette' the voice
Calling the sitter and the viewer alike?
Is it because our number did not
Come up
That we want the voice in McDonald's
'Outside Saigon' to be real?

Fallen leaves piled high.
Rustle crunch kick, footsteps slide.
Why walk around them?