But where I come from withdrawal is easy to forgive. — William Stafford
She said she loved me
she loved me
loved me
it became an anthem
a melodic hook
stacked like clouds
fists tucked
ready for a fight
bent over or
how horizons form
don’t believe me
study the moon
and sun’s partnership
a story of graceful friction
literally magnificent light
now wild from abandon
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.“ —Saskatchewan farmer saying
a quietness calls
stars still groggy
from shining all night
our tongues found light
in caves of darkness
bound by touch
we hold tight
such ritual informs
produces distills
grand obscene thoughts
bent knees
rabid digits
intake release
revelations replicate
unseen feedback a risk
strung across suffering
that has no reflection
“Variety, multiplicity, eroticism are difficult to control.” — Barbara Christian, The Race for Theory, 1988
the world has been ending
since humans monetized time
selling stories elegant as tree rings
interrupted only to loop
together, attention affects gravity
softly gathered in quiet
found in the folds of endurance
atoned — we focus on the migrating season
elegant in its infinite chase
an autumn sun rose ripe
peachy explosions
light bloomed dandelion bright
take my hand, let’s walk
to the edge of town
I promise our sky opens
if you listen to its longest shadows
Our days contain the same hours despite abbreviated light.
Fevered images imprinted on soft flesh remind
this planet orbits a beloved and nuclear star.
Sorcery or science, that’s not for me to declare.
I record the sky every morning to create fragments of an unseeable whole.
Daily witness a veritable surge measured against distance as response.
I stop when I remember your happiness is not my responsibility.
That’s the small print of being in relationship to you.
We’ve burned through time by excavating the past.
I warned you verb tenses are subjective when coupled
with mutable concepts of time. Didn’t you hear that echo?
In suspension, I ate my tongue and swallowed our blood.
I know how much you appreciate a dramatic and proper exit.
