“sadness of those unschooled in the bottles’ gloom”
–Rene Char, Poets
Tonight, I hold my shape
tenuously, like a rabbit,
tense, on the edge
of a field: hold tight
in silence, or flee
into the brush?
(January 22, 2020)
quandary
Category: poetry
the floating world
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (15)
from the upstairs window
the grey cat waits
and watches shadows
shift like dark flowers
dance in morning light
(January 21, 2020)
amorphous
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (14)
forgetting the pattern of fear
and doubt tangled about me
I fall out of sleep and remember
what parts of myself I need
–
to continue some resemblance
of the day the inessential shades
my ghosts as darkly as the essential
each shifts its position evasively
–
when questioned like a cat
slips through shadow and grass
(January 21, 2020)
the future was a threat
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (12)
in school we were always on the move
field trips to museums to math class
with Mr. Buesing to middle school
to high school to college the future
was a threat brandished like a whip
–
by degrees our world turned
then it stopped and I stumbled
and found myself here in the mud
like a body dropped from the door
of a passing car
(January 18, 2020)
math’s clarity
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (12)
I drive an hour to work
each day then back
–
ten hours each week
too fast too far
–
crossing the river
fog hangs in the air
(January 17, 2020)
Squirrel
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (11)
she skitters part way
into the empty street
stops stutter steps
grasps the road
trying not to fall off
then leaps back
unsure what’s next
*
I rarely know
finding myself
now as if
it made sense
yet knowing I’m wrong
*
I turn
without reason
as a car
crushes past
(January 16, 2020)
Happiness
from a work in progress: “process, not a journey” (10)
we fear
what we most
desire
(January 14, 2020)
