Marriage

I leave
only to hear you breathe
an ocean of dreams

I awaken you
only to feel the heartbeat
holding me to Earth

I watch
as the drums of
the jungle reach my ears

I seethe
deep in my chest at
the turning of the world

I love what is not mine to give away

You shift on
an axis
curved with silk and rose

You sing
moisture like a newborn
in a pink blanket

You scream
nightmares into the
early morning sky

I hold fast
to clarity like a rope
tethered to a sinking ship


I have
no footing in these hills
yet
my eyes
anchor us as one
each morning
and my arms will cradle you
until the moon
wanes in half crescent

The Other Side

oft tangled leaves
crispy
like old licorice whips
in the pre-summer wind
cheer a wink
from the left eye
of a child wondering skyward
following a Spiderman
kite string drawing a
white line to shifting
percale clouds
rushed by the whistling
of a western crowd
gathered on the other side of the state

marshmallow crap from airborne seagulls
collect on the picnic tables
arranged in mahjong patterns
used only on weekends by
families rich enough
to afford coolers and ice

on the other side of the fence
broken glass
attempts to rip blood from
small ebony brothers and sisters
who run shoeless
like bees around a hive
trying to spy
the food emerging from
blue and white
polyurethane

moist exhales of exhaustion
blow back at the crowd to the west
before the rain falls and
scatters us all to our corners