Ocean
I’ve got insomnia
again. I lay awake
for hours, listening
to the fan whirl
as my thoughts swim
round and round to you.
You’re six hours
behind so when I can’t
sleep...
Caught in the gusting wind,
a swallowtail flutters ahead.
The lights are red
for eight lanes in each direction,
leaving a vast emptiness
at the heart of the intersection,
except...
Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving
My mother framed the Rockwell painting.
That image of matriarch in white apron
setting down white platter
with turkey large enough to feed
all the smiling...
Pas de Deux
In our choreography, Dad and I
had three types of dance:
the shower, the stairs, and the car.
The shower’s dance was a slow kabuki-
like...
As if England and Nature were the same,
At Williamsburg we imitate by culling
Tricorn and lace—it’s Restoration Game!
And out we strut, colonialling,
Having to mincestep Revolution...
Minute shards of glass
settle upon the bar counter
like finely milled powder
The barkeep smiles at no one in particular
as if born an automaton
No warmth offered...
The Reflection Terrace at Brookside Gardens
I am still water
I take on the color of thehedge-pine greens thegeese-moss browns thetortoise-rock grays theazalea-breeze pinks thebride-haze whites...
POULTICEWhen you have looked elsewherefor answers—the spider’s web,the empty hive, the rotted log,beneath the unturned stone—ask yourself what you haveneglected. Do not lamentthat what...
