Losing Sight
You were the first person
I reached towards,
A single, shaking arm
Plunged into the thick
Fog of fresh grief.
You pulled me through
The first awful snow,
The first...
Morning Class in Washington, D.C.
A sparrow collides, fallsglass to concrete
Beak opens, body spasms.
A student looks:me, bird, back.
She wants instructions.
Touch the birdto do what?
Stun it...
Bellevue Library
I remember this library as hiddenin trees, perched on the hillside,pierced by birdsong.
I looked out from the second floorto see the oak trees,...
Brussel Sprouts in the Pandemic
As we kneelin this galaxyof lost stars,
the imprintof our handsin the earth
remains.The virus is spreading,and yet
we plantedBrussel sproutsyesterday—
and mustard greens.And...
Feathers in a Folktale
The rabbi told the gossipto rip open a pillowand release the feathersto the wind.
“Now bring them back,”the rabbi ordered.“Every single one.”
Scattered...
The Ballad of Alice Hortense
Some sweet morningI can’t say whenThe sun’s gonna melt my days awayAnd I’ll flow beside the knowing riverTill the rushing...
Positive Vision Quest
Dig your many trenches of attrition where you must.The inside job comes right from the gutand nowhere else.
Happiness is when what you...
Metamorphosis
No one asks the caterpillar.Survival has selected her destinylong before she swallowsher first lush, trembling leaf--sending her, impelling herto commit herselfwillingly,even eagerlyto the tiny...
A Heart-Shaped Amulet
Gazing upon the houses and fields of my kingdomI can see my grandmother outside a cottage –around her neck a heart-shaped amulet.Behind...
How Soon Is Now?
Christmassomewhere in Dixie
a young mothernurses her baby
listening to anythingbut The Smiths
while geekstry to figure out
her nameher location
Students shotthe footage
yet thered hat
that...
Fenwick Island
I wish you were here,for you would understandhow the confident starscan move this nightto companionable pity,unwholesome as it is,how the imperishable seamasquerades its...
