The Pockets of Your Coat

sometimes I search
the pockets of your
coat
looking in vain
for the skin
you took from my
hand
when you held it
so soft
in your own

One Cup of Tea

one cup of tea
has the depth of
a life
and through its
liquid gaze
i stare into your
eyes

Brick Wall

sometimes i miss you
so much
i am pushed up
against a brick
wall
stony hands to
my chest
i clutch at my
breath
at your words
the ink dry
now fading
i can't let them
go

sometimes
i hear your voice
inside my head
it tells me
wonderful things

My Love, You are Mistaken.

my love, you are mistaken.
as we walk beneath the
eavesdropping branches,
the leaves recording the
very footsteps of our
conversation,
you assume that you cannot
eavesdrop
and record
the falling flutters of my
heart.

Friendship Bracelets

'tis embroidery thread
that binds our wrists together
and braids our veins
to hang in the rafters
and dry
'tis embroidery thread
that binds us thus
synchronizing
our pulses

Magnets

the fact that
we must allow some
space, just as
two sister ends
of a magnet
repel,
does not mean
that I love you
any less.
I will switch my charge
and come to you
at any moment.

Xylo Phylo Mylo

my name is xylo phylo mylo
i speak in capillaried tongues
my roots extend from venus to mars
i breathe the breath of soiled lungs

my love,
you are so cold.
Is your blood
so passionless
that it sits
silently
in your veins?
come to me.
do not think
that your pulse
is not the beat
of a dance.

Your Hungry Heart

little bird
you flit from
flower to flower
seeking some sweet
sanctuary
for your hungry
heart
little flighty one
perhaps you should
find a tree
instead
and build yourself
a nest
so that in
flightless
slumber
you shall
finally spread
your wings

Stony Heart

he says that love
is like a pie,
finite,
only so much
to share.
never ceasing
in prayer,
he says,
is exhausting.
I will strike
your stony heart
with my staff,
and your love
shall overfloweth.

Bound

bound as I am,
by choice,
not by force,
to you, with
no net to catch
me
when you push
away,
it would be so
much easier,
my love,
if you held me
close

let us be
as soil in the ground
compacted
by the very
footsteps
of time

Lover

make me your lover
my pearl earrings
on your dresser
my scent
left
on the pillow to your
right
where you stroked
my hair
the night before

Hideaway

take me to your
hideaway
tie me up in your
secrets
so that I may never be
free of the
I shall look out
from your hidden
sanctuary
at the setting sun
in peace

Spindled Legs

someday
we shall walk
on spindled legs
no thicker
than the
dusting of snow
upon which
we tread

Dig Deeper

dig a little deeper
perhaps you shall find
some tuber
starched and knotted
i hid away
and mulched too long
waiting for spring

Blood Inflamed

swollen heart
too crammed
with blood inflamed
by fire and gunpowder
which as they kiss
consume
this pulse
in a single
word

Ambivalence

my cup overfloweth
my eyes run dry
my heart stays the same
as you walk by

Little Bird

little bird
eyes shining
little feathers
fluffed and primed
little song
sweetly singing
little cares
to the sky

Kin

By flesh and blood,

You are mine.

By spirit,

We reach out,

But no genetics

Pairs us,

And our hands

Come back empty.

the old woman kneels
in the empty church
a relic
among the freshest of
sins

Sticks and Stones

how is it
that verbs are
actions
and yet just
words?

Growing Pains

if I could water
my garden
with the tears
of my own eyes
I would
but I cannot feel
its growing pains
and so I must use
a hose

i have soft
baby skin
stretched tight
across chalky
dead bones

To Mirth, Wherever She May Be

lick my legs
i am dripping with laughter
it pools by my feet
as you nibble my toes

Read My Palm

read my palm
the imprint of your
cheek
is still fresh upon it
ink drying
from where I slapped you
in an effort to write
a wrong

The Meaning of Life

sometimes i wonder why
we bother
to illuminate
some parts of the city
and not others
but i realize
they are only illuminated
because we make it so
why
then
not?

steal from the greats
they shall make you strong
but in your strength
you shall never be great

taste and see
for the good is lord
over all the
well-intentioned
disasters

Eating Alone

there is a romance
in eating alone
a solumn ritual
communing with
some ghosts
in the back of your
eyes

Sea Drum

whoever made
the sea
must also have made
your drum
which in waves
beats my skin
into salt

when i am alone
i hear the sound of
my voice
inside of my
head

sometimes there is a weight
crying baby
strapped to my chest
and suckles me dry
like evaporated
milk

Forgiveness Is Fickle

i know i will forgive you
i've done it before
let's not begrudge
the inevitable
so what's the point
of fuming now
when the fire
will soon fizzle out

i hope i will forgive you
i've never doubted before
you've always shaken loose
the inevitable
and thrown it to the wind
this fire is too
hot
for prophecy

i will never forgive you
forget before
i do begrudge you
all future
inevitable
hurt you caused
i'm fuming
and furious



i forgave you.

Dust

somehow you are near me
even when you
are so far away
you cling
like dust in my eyes
blinding me
to a future without you
or the clouds of
dust
you leave behind

If I Lived As Long as the Mountains

the river may carve
a tumbling path
into rock
one grain of sand
at a time
leaving its footprints
only to be recarved
the next century

i wonder if
i lived as long as
the mountains
if my blood
would carve its
tumbling path
into my body
its pulse against me
one grain at a time
until i was free

when i look
to the skies
shaded by trees
dripping with rain
my heart is filled
with song

The Earth is Swollen

the earth is swollen
the rivers tumbling high
their rounded muscles
straining
to hold in the power
crashing with their
fingered waves
against the rocks

Let Us Sleep

my darling
let us sleep
on a bed of moss
unfurling our arms
to the sky
like the ferns
and watch
as the trees grow
rings
around our fingers

the water laps
at the colored rocks
of the shore
so too
do i swallow your
round smooth heart
with my ripples

Little Ripples

the waves weave
a fabric
over the surface of the
lake
little ripples
darting in and out
over and under
silver thread
upon Poseiden's
loom

Reeds

above the water
the reeds quiver
each a charcoaled stroke
of woody pencil
beneath the water
the reeds sway
smudged by the palm
of the waves

Reflections

when a bird flies
over water
another bird flies
through the water
spirit bird
the reflection
of its soul

when a mountain leans
over water
another mountain leans
over the sky
spirit mountain
the reflection
of its majesty

My Earth Day Song!

Hurray for dirt!
Hurray for mud!
Hurray for earthworms, slime and crud!
Get off your back, go plant a tree!
For Earth Day is up to you and me!

Pills

i walk out to the car
my hands fumbling
with all the little pieces
of today
stuffed in my purse
out pulled my keys no
oops its my pill bag
i pause
the light shines through
the little round capsules
i can see the grains
i gently shake the chemical
maraca
how strange
such a little thing
is supposed to contain
happiness

i stare at the mobile
whirling slowly
above your bed
hearing you sniffle
occasionally
beside me
there is nothing to say

On Sitting in a Symphony Hall

a dying breed
bred so long
to be stallions
galloping thunder
across the stage
whispering triste, triste
the ghost of ages
past
the rasping last
breaths
of a dying warrior

Spencer

he looks out at me
from corkboard
grave
alive with only a
smile
and push pin
through his head
what joy though
the whiteness
of his teeth
the slightest
undulation
of his auburn mane
somehow proof that
the heart that
failed him
was heart enough
for this sublime
moment
of careless
laughter

I am the Color of Your Walls

i am the color of your walls
you built me
and i built
your world
but now you barely
notice
my hue
so overgrown am i
with canvases of
your life
painted with
my life blood

Notes

your notes are very welcoming
like they are a nice place to be
i could hop on them
like jumping from roof
to roof of tall buildings
built from the sky

you give a little
wave
but i open my arms
you teeter in
our faces brush
awkward pendulums
on our balances
but then your arms
so fierce around me
hold tight
my body to yours
my heart is about
to crack open
smashed by the
pendulum
against the wall
of reality

Your Arte Deco Heart

harsh light
no euphemism
between the glow
and the shadow
on your face
how angry
your arte deco heart
at the bewilderment
of material
revelation
you say
there must
be
something out there
happiness
is worth
studying
you muse
beneath the interrogation
of the lights

Face Paint of an Erudite Doll

how is it that
that which is an
attempt
to capture the
mystique human
makeup
is simply such
face paint
of an erudite doll
the folly
of a porcelain
figurine

Honey Sweet

after you are through with me
i am like a honeycomb
run through with holes
where i once was filled
dripping with sweet gold
too stung to be consumed
i am your perforated
holy queen

all expanse into single density
two fish slip in and out
of current awakening
i laugh at the genius
of it all

a girl's journal
dry leaves peeled off
from ripe fruit
giving room
to grow

double shadow
blotting red wall
gleaming bright
against gold horn
your ghost read so well
your notes as to
be your silence

cymbals shiver
hiss like steam
as hot meets cold
finger meets string
in moment of transfer
my heart string to
its heart wood
beat blows through me
wind rocking my limbs
tree limbs leaves
sprouting from your
horn wild animal
whispering through the
reeds read my lips
smoke fills my ears

i walk barefoot

daddy is surrounded
by a cloud of smoke
and demons
as the snow falls
from his nose
i walk
barefoot
for six hours
to escape the sun
and moon
hidden in those clouds
my feet pack down
the earth
tight into a little ball
that i can throw
away
at will

i hold your hands
and converse with them
our fingers talk
as our minds
slip
away

While We Were Dancing

why were your hands
so cold
while we were
dancing?
mine were warm
and wet,
and my whole chest
was vibrating.
but you were so cold.
i turned
and looked behind me
and you were gone.

Noodletown

we sat
eating noodles
as the ice
formed
on the roads
but perhaps
because it was
past midnight
the chopsticks
and conversation
melted something
in us
and we formed
anew

you say
you read only
from the script
but the words
are written
on your face

i do not believe
you have conjured
these gestures
from thin air
these are demons
whose rage

cannot be contained
whose pleasure
at pain
cannot be concealed

you pace back
and forth
shirt buttoned
tight
up to your neck
and i see you
ripple
beneath the surface

your empty white skin
cannot deny
the tempest of blood
pounding
pounding
never
ceasing
catching even your
dreams
into its current
drowning even God
in its bloody fire.




i shudder
when i look
into your hollow
black
eyes.

To Be an Artist

to be an artist
is to dwell in a
world
that does not exist
and yet is more
real
to our consciousnesses
than life itself

Chickadee

chickadee pecking
at the snow
for tiny seeds
the larger fruits
laying scattered
for greater beasts

scones baked in
metal bowls
over wood burning
stove
the simplicity of
hours spent
by friendly face
of glowing ash

The Feel of Foreign Bed

the feel of foreign bed
I try to make myself
lighter
give not into strange
embrace
but instead
give grudging nod
to the posts
that hold my
presence

the feel of foreign bed
exciting like the
anticipation
of a first kiss
I try to loosen my
inhibitions
surrender wildly
to hidden dreams
and crisp sheets

The Forest

the forest
is a lesson
in serendipity
the chance twists
and limbs
that take root
in our minds

rorriM

rorrim a ma i

noitcelfer erem a

pots ohw esoht fo

stnemom niav ni

esoper fo

otni ezag ot

ecafrus yssolg ym

Winter

the snow partially
covers the ground
the way your shirt
slips off your
shoulder
revealing slightly
your barren dormant
skin
but soon little children
will burst through
the skin of the
earth
and your ground too
will yield blooms
as your clothes
fall
to the floor

Blue Eyes

i am a burly
anglo-saxon
woman
with thick wrists
blue grey eyes
like the sky in
England
and a heart that
longs not
to hate
the blue-eyed
devil
in the books
in the mirror

Failure

what good is it
to write
when,



i gave up.

Regrets.

i wrote a list of all
the things
i wanted to do with
people.
i will probably never do
them.
like i never told you
i love you.

i smell smoke on airplanes
like i smell
secrets
in a room

the zipper on my dress
won't shut
and all my secrets
come bursting out

Narrative

in the lines on your face
i can see written
a story
but it may not be
the story you
tell
or mount on the walls
of your
house

Reach

why did my fingers
    stop growing
      when they
        did
          instead of reaching
            out
              so that I could
                touch you
                  so far                                        away

Dress-Up

i play dress-up
with your old
frocks
pretending to jump
into your past
but really i
am trying to
leap
over my present

mennonites eating
ritz bitz
in an airport
taste like the salt
of the earth

Snow

A terror seizes my entire body
When I see the snow
Death places his heavy registrar on my
Heart
And I shudder
Knowing the names
On the latest page
And knowing the blank line
Where lies a faint imprint
Of my name
Where Death erased it
When I released my hands
From my neck
And released a living breath
Into Death's face
Hollow with anticipation
As I lay
Chest heaving
In the snow.

Bathtime Study

i sit enthroned
in a tiny washroom
naked
scrubbing myself
with a frayed rag
my lilly white skin
turning red from the
friction

i look down at myself
scars cover my abdomen and thighs
red streaks in a sky
of white
where dust has broken
the holy fortress

my abdomen is swollen
from forced entry
womb of pain
yes, i carry pain
but when i give it birth
what will it become?

i see the shadowy outline of my breasts on the wall

Scentsibility

We miss so many fragrances
nowadays,
Fragrances futilely masked
with soaps and scents,
dyes and bleaches,
chemicals and perfumes...

Like the smells of nature,
fumes of dirt
mixed with dew on grass,
the musty bark of trees,
enfolded by sweet moss...

Or the miriad scents
aroused on the human body.
The smell of skin caressed by
wind,
or sweat
dripping like strange fruit,
from workers and lovers alike...

These fragrances can never be bottled,
or drowned in cocktails of perfumes,
for they are the tantalizing odors
of life
itself.