PART I

Mythical creatures
White-tufted
Branch-antlered or unicorn-horned
Drove back the guilt-fortress

A clearing of Open
Forbade my translucent
Excuse

Where we might have
Pointed
And Counter-Pointed
Government sycophants
Or social-discoursed
Impending collapse

Instead I pointed out this silhouette
Finger-tracing curves
And feathered jags of edge

Reading glasses emphasized my Now
With Immediacy

And somewhere at the root
Tightly packed cells of potential
Honesty
Sealed by long-intended Inertia
Stirred
Vibrated
Demanded

You, with a watchful patience
Circus-intrigued



PART II

At close, the clock struck
A gong of True

You returned
To
Your Wife

I venture
Back on the path
Of routine
Groping a functional Reset
Possessed of magic/potential
Or a vintage matchstick
For the dread-moment
When the fuse of Annihilate
Presents like a slate
Wiped clean

I carry only a solace
Potentiated by the grace
Of your listen
The healing salve
Coating the grit
Of my Askew

Leading
With time
To opalescence