taken
back into the eternal

in that moment of forever
(as in any other moment)
planets dissolve
stars trumpet their insides
repeatedly
side by side galaxies unravel

Holly

the neighbor’s female and our male plant
throwing stickery smiles across the fences--
an outburst of berries, a fluster
of red bellies and wax wings...

stand-in

F---- you!
announced his voice over and over again
when he, himself, in handcuffs
and face down on the grass
was powerless to do so

conclusion

visiting Greece, Rome
after reading too many historical novels--

here and there it left us reminders, yes
but History is gone

driving up the mountain

from the clatter of rain--
flapping wipers, squash of water and fling--
into ethereal silence
white flakes that veer away from the windshield
float off on a cushion of air

neighbor

she decorated her picture window
with artificial flowers, a seasonal display
aimed at the world in general
for she kept mostly to herself
spoke to no one on her street

a difference in personalities

when he walks into the room
he has questions, he has theories
he emerges with stories

the same room blooms for him
that his wife leaves cold, aloof

feeding the stray

upending the can of cat food into a china bowl 

she sets it on the steps

the cat comes running with an open mouth

dream

I was haranguing someone, a new father
arguing that time seems long to children
that half of life seems childhood
introduce them now to the riches of this world

he interpreted it to mean a full toy box

beyond

remember how
one day you were going to show them?
and now you could, but it doesn't matter?

the best revenge is no revenge

barbecue tastes better on a wrinkled tablecloth

what delicious food you have here
can I be your housefly?

time to invest in a spider...

it has been given to her
to be pestered by little boys

children gather in the neighborhood
cries of newborns on each side

we haters end up surrounded
living with what we hate

I
the viewpoint roofed
and crowded with visitors
posing, chattering
ignoring the view
which anyway was dusty...

II
she let illness
wipe her glasses
a brighter sun
came shining through...

definition

nostology—
he reached an end against the wall of time
bouncing backward through the telescope
for a shuddering return to the majesty
of images, pre-speech

not for sale or rent (on Fruitvale Ave)

no pictures to disturb the rhythm of blank walls
nor furniture to dim the echoes, interrupt the flow
of parquet flooring room to room
no curtains to impede the sun

no tenants to destroy the
tranquility of the self-built building
empty 25 years

noted today at the shopping center

children lined up, pointing fingers
at the pigeons on the roof, lined up
pointing beaks at the children

not an example

holding out her arms
she stood among pines as an equal
until some children came into sight

at the theater

entering, you bring
your own life into the room
squeeze into the old upright seats
(among tarnished gilding)
(under the painted-on dome,)
(telescopes of lights clipped to the balconies)

stand up several times and let pass
arriving small commotions
how does the usher keep
her disillusionment in check

the performers continually fling
enchanted ropes into the audience
you don’t have to reach very far to catch one

the critic refuses--
he has disentangled himself and
sits disenchanted among the ropes

procreation

they didn't have "a people they belonged to"
so they tried to make their own

last night's dream in words

two black cats, in greeting
flash green eyes at each other
lighting up the forest floor