there you lie
spanning vast distances
white arms stretched
a thousand miles
in both directions
one foot anchored
on either shore
those golden scales!
such a precise balance
an ounce on either end
and you would come
crashing down, like
galloping gerty
and the pieces that
fell would drop
silently into my arms
nobody can stay
like that forever
patient winds erode
your willpower down
to a fine copper dust
to be carried off to
the edge of the world

I am hiding under a sheet
like a child on Halloween
as always, you cut to the chase
everything I am is before you
pages of a tattered book
that you know oh so well
rustle in the warm breeze
hopping from one
leaf to the next

if I was a tree, my arms
stretched and growing
in all directions
you’d come to me
and pull away my bark
just to find out more
your insatiable curiosity
comes at a terrible price
in exchange for my life
you want a place within it
forged by your own two hands
blackened with soot
like that one long moment
when I put my glasses on
wide-eyed recognition
of the position you hold
with such sweet relish
those eyes tell me so much
fixated on the horizon
I can’t help but look back

you’re in too deep now
a part of you swims through
my bloodstream and
enjoys the ride every time
my heart beats

shut the bedroom door
the lock clicks as it throws
the room into darkness
lying on my back I can see
my index finger trace
a satellite’s trajectory across
the smoky black curtain
spread above us
my eyes scan the horizon
searching for Saturn
after all, it is my
favorite planet
a sudden flash of light
the tail of a comet screams
past in the silence of space
tiny bits of rock, born on
the other side of existence
paint bright red lines
through the atmosphere
and land on your pink cheeks
ripe from the sun’s caress
they’ve come all this way
to become the freckles
below those perfect eyes
we are floating quietly
beyond all we’ve ever known
for an eternity and a half
just so that we can return
and see the world
come to ruin

I remember when we first met
my eyes carefully admired your
delicious curves and lines
ten fingers delicately graze the
fine hairs on your skin
I knew that I wanted you
so I took you home, made you wait
until I was ready, until I wanted it
and you did not disappoint
with each layer I remove, you
became even more beautiful
until at last, that first taste…
so sweet I could hardly believe it
each bite was more sumptuous
than the last one, so much so that
I was sad that you had nothing
left to give to me
few things are quite as satisfying
as a good peach for breakfast

The first chime
a man beaten by time and weather
waits at a silent bus stop for the last
chance he’ll get to see his kids
before they’re gone

The second chime
a woman on her back, wearing
nothing but a smile she doesn’t mean
feeling human again with a man she
doesn’t even know

The third chime
noisy commotion around a bed
the doctors saved the baby but
mom paid the ultimate price
who will tell the father?

The fourth chime
a million questions race through
your head as you try to fall asleep
what will tomorrow hold for me?
only time will tell

The fifth chime
as the last customers leave the
manager of the diner walks out
tonight he will make the decision
not to drink himself to sleep

The sixth chime
a little boy, tears rolling down his
face as he hides under the covers
he always hates it when mommy
and daddy fight

The seventh chime
a priest sits at his desk in the house
of the Lord, weeping with guilt
how can such a sinner lead any of
God’s people?

The eighth chime
out on the rocky beaches
a man and a woman are wed
by the sultry light of the moon
and nothing more

The ninth chime
six men carry the casket of
a seventh, a man they all called
father and sir but never
just Dad

The tenth chime
high in the Cascades, the light
of an emergency flare finally dies
along with the last hopes of
the stranded hiker

The eleventh chime
night is still young for most
but for some it is only the start
of the hardest day they will
ever weather

The twelfth chime
the bus comes, and the man
sighs with relief to know he
will be able to see his sons
before they’re gone

What began as something quite unfamiliar
Has now evolved into one quite peculiar
A collection of orphans, born into existence
And not all are resembling real substance
With the unique perspective of creator
I feel with each piece that I am a traitor
Somehow I never wrote something that
I’ve intended to go back to; and that’s a fact
Each one an entry from some long lost past
Never read twice, they are designed to last
Beyond my feeble years to hide and collect dust
So I’ll take the rare chance to show that I must
Return to my work, my children, my thoughts
Let them resonate and appreciate their plots
And since it’s my poetic resumé I’ve described
I’ll always make it new, as Pound prescribed

I died once,
just to see what it was like
(it doesn’t matter how,
so I won’t bother saying)
my curiosity had bested me
and so I did what I had to
in order to see

Like Thomas,
my dying eyes were flooded
by white mice and roses,
all in constant motion as my
eyelids finally shut
although the darkness had
embraced me absolutely,
a kind of clairvoyance
unknown to me picked me
up and swept me away
still blind, I found my footing
and I waited
and waited

Silently, a light broke above me,
falling thickly onto my shoulders
like condensed milk
and then, from somewhere
a voice spoke, tragic and booming:

“YOU’RE EARLY.”

I winced at the reverberations
echoing into nothingness
I couldn’t muster any reply
beyond a half-trembling shrug

There was a quick snap,
and the peculiar feeling of standing
on a trapdoor that’s about to drop
and, at last, I was back;
returned to my mortal coil,
gulping breaths of air
cold and deep and new