Untitled

among astronomers and dancers,
who understands the way a body moves?

among philosophers and priests,
who understands the way a mind moves?

among surgeons and widows,
who understands the way a heart moves?

is it better to take things apart,
or put them together?

(Revised in coordination with Katie Richardson-McDaniel.)

Conundrum

the senses struggle
to sedate ... can anyone
show me how to see?

Ageless

an untethered wind
sings in the tall trees as leaves
forget their colors.

Saguaro (2)

i followed the scent
of a white saguaro blossom
deep into the desert,

counted well
how my thirst would develop,

counted the hours
before my withered body
would embrace the shifting sand.

counted them the same as the hours
of a life at sea,

failing to appreciate
that such a creature could endure in the absence
of so much more than water,

failing to understand
how different something as simple as respiration could be,

failing to predict
that i would stumble into a lack of oxygen,
turning so many beautiful shades of

red, blue, violet –

becoming a flower myself,
blossoming briefly
next to you.

Saguaro (1)

does water miss the saguaro
blossoming in the desert?

does air miss the satellite?

does earth remember the edible red fruit
after it has decomposed?

what is left to remember fire?

Mea Culpa

i thought of you as
something other than a leaf
caught in the current.

Untitled

through the end of 17 and well into 18,
i prayed every night for the love of a girl
i had known since childhood.

in doing so,
i committed what i think of now
as two of the most egregious errors.

the first,
and lesser of the two,
was to believe that anyone
would be listening to
my arrogance.

the second,
and far greater of the two,
was to believe that only one person in the world
possessed what i thought anyone should consider beautiful.
make that three of the most egregious errors.

now,
when i meet someone new,
i try to find something beautiful right away.

now,
instead of praying for love,
i hold in my pocket the thing i found,
withdrawing it in those moments between moments,
and falling in love over and over again.