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...
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM MY FORMER SELF
I lost everything:the contours of the body I knewthe housethe identity of wife/motherhalf of a couplea name that...
There is in the Water
What happened here the history I mean thismean thing there right there the bridgewhere they were lynched and who elsewas there and this is always here Ito make them mean something and howcan inanimate objects say...
occupier artclasswindow is crackedopen to let fresh air in. outsidesunny schoolyard under
lovely cloudless sky,the kind of blue beggingto be licked and torn asunderby hungry...
