5.4 64km 11:45pm
first the moth flinging himself at the pane
becomes a stiff wind
then the gust gathers
becomes a truck going by on the road behind
but then the rattle’s in front, too –
have truck and wind teamed up?
no, it keeps growing all around at once
quite unlike any truck
then you realize what it is
when everything moves at once:
earthquake
dormitory room
in the sleeping room
bodies stay busy
minds turned out to shake
gallop eat daisies and peer at sky
make whatever worlds they will
bodies stay home
limbs heavy
but blood pulsing, lungs pumping,
mouths restless, straining to speak
air squeezing in and out of all
the little face holes
the dark unknowing hours mumble by
one exhalation at a time
drinking the Kool Aid
after months of being careful
the boys froze
as I took water from the priest’s bowl
and brought it to my lips
I nodded to them
it’s okay
they hesitated
then did the same
why? they asked later
it’s Besakih, the Mother Temple
the blessing’s worth the risk
today floating in the bottle green depths
of the pelucid Pelorus
that once held dwarves afloat
they asked me
can we drink it?
here we were
in a space sacred to them
I hesitated then nodded
just a little I said
and we all took a bit of magical river
into our very selves
slippery slope
the slightest bit of justification
and the ground shifts
tilts toward what I want
until it comes rolling my way
and I’m trapped under its weight
listless legs kicking in that void
under a tent of stars
waiting for the lights to go out
vow
once in a while
I exceed his expectations:
unlatching the door without assistance
banking the shot for the minigolf hole-in-one
driving on the left without incident the first time
(second time I hit the curb; more typical)
nearly calculating the squares in an 8×8 grid
performing to applause
you don’t need to impress me
he says
oh yes
I do
Hector’s Visit
he’s overcome
each time another animal chooses him
overjoyed they’d share a moment
today when the little dolphin
broke away from her pod
and frolicked all around the boat
saying hello a dozen ways
he was amazed
before that, when massive Toy Soldier
the show jumper nuzzled his shirt
he glowed at being touched
the little owl, blue penguin, purring cheetah
each animal he’s really met
says clearly to him
as if in his mother tongue
you are not alone
reconnects his hairless ape life
to the world of fur feather bone wild
his pressed palm feels a real heart beat
and remembers we’re all one
and someday
he’ll feel that in the tree and fern
skipping river and stinging wind
silent stars and now-cold stone
even the space between cells
the negative cloud where all’s uncertain
even there in the nothingness he’ll sense
we’re all one
he’s tethered to every last bit
including his four chickens
that haven’t yet hatched
silent E
I make ‘em say their names
draw the sound out long
quiet but fierce
fir gets set ablaze
cap transforms into hero-wear
not carries a message
a hug grows large
scars terrify
a pin towers
I blow ‘em up big
make ‘em sound hard
shove little flat hats
down tight on their heads
don’t let ‘em forget
who they are
