alone on
a path

by a stream

my foot falling
on a fallen leaf

one crackle

and I hear a
sound

movement
something

rising from
the weeds

small head
beady eye
long beak

dark feathers
lift the skinny

body from
the surface

it glides
along the

stream and
disappears

alone

I worked at
a dairy

stamped the
date on milk

containers

warning people
when it expires

or it is supposed
to expire

there is no way
of knowing for sure

when we start
to get lumpy

go bad
taste sour

should be
thrown out

some temptation
tugs at my soul
something I desire
reaches all my senses
I move toward it
without hesitation
want and need are one
risk and reward
will not be calculated
I am abandon
I am captured
the sultry spider whispers
sweet nothings
into my ear
I feel an urge
to escape
I feel an urge
to give in
every part of me
is twisted
and ready to explode

water laced
with lavender

warm as a teacup

flames flicker
the only light

her favorite
glass is drunk

she sinks slowly
as the day ends

it is her time
to disappear

is this where
pain comes from

the unsettled mind
asking unanswerable

questions

millions of nasty neurons
twisting and turning

around each other
creating knots

blocking the flow
so all I can feel

is the constant need
to stretch myself

she is an
artform

a movement
a new way

of thinking
and acting

one lifetime
is not enough

to discover
her patterns

I will pass
my observations

to the next
generation

and hope they
create a new

science or
religion from

her way of life
so we can all

learn how to live

volcano breath
burst of energy

human bodies
crash

feel the force

explode
my ears

then my
soul

make me feel
everything

then make me
think

then make me
question

everything
and know that

nothing is
settled