(no subject)
in between places
airport concourses and gates
love and time occur
plane's metal wings flap
hands interlaced we depart
unknown for unknown
poplar blossoms wrapped
and stars on a cold clear night
what's after this breath
Baltimore below
a topography of snow
land for layover
cleared for departure
given assent we ascend
pressure then rising
stopped in Chicago
once i smashed up a bride's car
here you caught fever
midway at midway
on the runway by the lake
day ends while we wait
rising into night
patterns of our lives outlined
in streetlights not stars
always flying west
horizon we'll never reach
turns from peach to fire
constantly singing
forgotten birds discovered
again i delight
spinning she scatters
joy in a handful of dust
sands fall through fingers
scalp pricked as I peered
too closely into a nest
secured in cactus
ocotillo's spark
in cloudy skies ignited
by late winter's rains
my eye caught bright orange
eye of thrasher curved bill gripped
twig to build his nest
white winged doves calling
amplified by open sky
edge of afternoon
low stone labyrinth
daughter in the center laughs
seen as she sees me
seen beneath mesquite
or creosote woodpecker
or flicker i heard
sheen of black and green
darting flit of fluttering
radiance of wings
flicking hummingbird
one minute stand pollinates
blooms in broad daylight
late winter flora
Sonora seems soft and green
look but do not touch
my desert visit
as if carried within me
rain and howling wind
perfect nest woven
of grass and cottonwood seeds
i yearn for patience
under lash thin leaves
pendulous seeds pods hanging
tree's priority
leaves matter little
in land with light not water
trees feed fat seed pods
mountains on all sides
confined by grand promises
of something lasting
orange honeysuckle
under bare trees over rocks
rose fairy duster
grey stalks twisted thin
red skyrocket parts like lips
waiting balm or kiss
cliffs flat and ragged
clouds soften as jagged rain
pours streams over stones
among saguaros
soaked to cold skins and laughing
in desert deluge
jubilant she chose
grey skies and when rare hail fell
she jumped for sheer joy
foggy mountain pass
foreboding and forbidding
novelty today
February sun
as white and round as snowflakes
vanish on dark ground
train whistling downtown
coming home to winter rain
falling into falls
after i am gone
cholla close to blooming will
regrets mine alone
airport concourses and gates
love and time occur
plane's metal wings flap
hands interlaced we depart
unknown for unknown
poplar blossoms wrapped
and stars on a cold clear night
what's after this breath
Baltimore below
a topography of snow
land for layover
cleared for departure
given assent we ascend
pressure then rising
stopped in Chicago
once i smashed up a bride's car
here you caught fever
midway at midway
on the runway by the lake
day ends while we wait
rising into night
patterns of our lives outlined
in streetlights not stars
always flying west
horizon we'll never reach
turns from peach to fire
constantly singing
forgotten birds discovered
again i delight
spinning she scatters
joy in a handful of dust
sands fall through fingers
scalp pricked as I peered
too closely into a nest
secured in cactus
ocotillo's spark
in cloudy skies ignited
by late winter's rains
my eye caught bright orange
eye of thrasher curved bill gripped
twig to build his nest
white winged doves calling
amplified by open sky
edge of afternoon
low stone labyrinth
daughter in the center laughs
seen as she sees me
seen beneath mesquite
or creosote woodpecker
or flicker i heard
sheen of black and green
darting flit of fluttering
radiance of wings
flicking hummingbird
one minute stand pollinates
blooms in broad daylight
late winter flora
Sonora seems soft and green
look but do not touch
my desert visit
as if carried within me
rain and howling wind
perfect nest woven
of grass and cottonwood seeds
i yearn for patience
under lash thin leaves
pendulous seeds pods hanging
tree's priority
leaves matter little
in land with light not water
trees feed fat seed pods
mountains on all sides
confined by grand promises
of something lasting
orange honeysuckle
under bare trees over rocks
rose fairy duster
grey stalks twisted thin
red skyrocket parts like lips
waiting balm or kiss
cliffs flat and ragged
clouds soften as jagged rain
pours streams over stones
among saguaros
soaked to cold skins and laughing
in desert deluge
jubilant she chose
grey skies and when rare hail fell
she jumped for sheer joy
foggy mountain pass
foreboding and forbidding
novelty today
February sun
as white and round as snowflakes
vanish on dark ground
train whistling downtown
coming home to winter rain
falling into falls
after i am gone
cholla close to blooming will
regrets mine alone