Monkey


They sent forests and he
swung lianas, strung fruit, caught
whispers in rustling leaves.

They sent mountains and he
became mole, ate worms, carved
songs in the dark places.

They sent oceans and he
tamed currents, cast shoals, dissolved
their salt to season stew.

They sent cities and he
spilt trashcans, slicked oil, breathed
the foul breath of machines.

 

Essential Equation


The mind,
in solution,
is blind:
dissolution
in front
and illusion
behind.

 

Commencing

When lungs haul mud,
instead of words,
and slack, bruised
lips cannot form,
and shattered teeth
lie scattered, brief
shellbursts in the ire,
and the breath gasps
glottal and thick
with old contusion,
then speak poetry.

 

Strongbox

Keep safe with
cunning locks
my hopes and fears
in shuttered box.

Bar them tight
in darkened vaults,
forbidding light
with sliding bolts.

 

Nicotineless

While the body
balks relaxing and
tenses recursively,
the brain has been
re-wiring itself
to instructions
in Chinese.

The mind foments
rebellion, as it plots
in hidden corners,
and the madness
sinks in deeper,
gaining triumph
by degrees.

---