Sidewinder

scrape the  snakeskins

from your Eyes – mount

the  cliffface

now – it is Time

for an Upsurge of

things Material, a glowing

terror poised

as heartfelt – How can I trust You here

with cannonballs and

half-heard Anecdotes ? We

are succinct

in our Pleasure bursting with Ire --                                                                        

unkempt Sonnet --

when we are lovers entwined in a curious spelling 

 of syllables for contemplation we wield

words as axes the thematic shift telling

us we’ve come to the battle with shield,

sword, and incensed arrival – we’ve grown

rich with Sacrifice this horizon that we cross;

memory of an ailing Knight, his Wound

uncovered in Evening’s quiet  loss –

what manner of man is He who hides under stairs

to trick his demons into submission?

We hold out our hands, our instep, our glare

at this, a prescient moment master’s schism --

     in certain circles birds fly blind

     transcending  blood, transcending time --

     

“I don’t need to be forgiven” – The Who –

basking in purity, Our lights out and remaining mute – what

can we do to make things right?

Here in our sullen jungles we attain justice on the Wing, a

wild Osprey gliding overhead in

grand Circles hunting down our Night-Mistress

obtaining subtle Sacrifice from the Muse

who stands in the way with hip thrust Out a

Chimera whose tricks are surely up against

a Wall – We

have fathomed the dry skies as a sort

of divination, ready from

the Start --

 Cave Fish –

undeveloped Eyes there darting about your ankle

in the Water they swim in and out here

longing to come ashore with a Message from below

that All is well with the World

or Else it is tipsy drunk on Wine and prisoners

call to it here in the Darkness the Medicine Man

Sits cross-legged and Solemn in the Earth – We

are imprisoned by Our Minds

hauling water to the fire our hands hot

to the touch We pray

for Freedom of the Spirit from the

Churches to the jails

lighting up the Sky with our Pride our

hands held out  to

those in Need in

 this great Machine – fireflies

pulse slowly in the Night’s air

out of Reach of  Mind’s

Eye; you will 

see them in your dreams, the

Spider there on your bunk

is your Companion, Bear Heart said,

it is alive with Nature

even behind barbed wire, out of Reach

of  Sentry’s gun it spins its web

a testament to your Enduring Strength

behind these bars you who

would hear the hawk and teach the fish

to see at last in this dark dungeon --

Holy Incantations --


we begin at the beginning, there
where time stops
and beggars Relapse; it
is here, in Our Eyes, that
we find
Relief; these, the Solemn days
resounding Full and Glorious -- What
manner
of Speaking is at your Command, you
who would spark
the Divine in a minute, the
vestigial
forms adhering to the Sky, a palate
Cleft awaiting surgery?

These days arrive with thunderous Appeal, our
hearts out and pulsing
through the Wound, there, where
we least expect it, there,
where scattered
icons are Supremely Felt; We,
the unpaid
Justices of an
intimate Night reflecting Purity or Waste
with Our incision must
count the days out on our Fingertips these
tipsy beings affording
us a Window
into Wine, our sullen Shadows
hoping for glimpses
of his narrow shoulders
and upheld arch:  He is

the Master Puppet here in our Surprising
brevity, our
handheld Terror one
of a quiet Child
basking in the fountain Wants
to know
your Name, you
who handled guns and bombs Now
kneeling to
the Earth to scratch the kittens' Ears -- all

laid in Precise implication of our lungs
heaving in
a lacquered breath, Replete --

Rima the bird girl –

Watch carefully as we tumble into the woods

our eyes Searching her out -- She, this

Sudden sister glued to the wind who

whispers in your Ear unspeakable things

must be some kind of Priestess, holy

as She is --  Her mind is diamond-cut

and quiet We see her skittering

between  elms, hiding her face with

her hands, smiling, there, beneath

 the leaves, this, prayerful heroine here

 to lift us through our Pain – She

must make the most of her

delicate Step to save us from Ourselves

      We the rootless

and abandoned Ones who glimpsed her there,

knees bared, sitting

by the branch humming a tune

unsettled in breathless green Mansions --

For My Mother

First the Morning Came

billowing the Sails upon

which she Danced, lithe

in Motion twirling

in Synch with her Breathing

this Young Woman

grown in Brooklyn, born

of immigrants

from Palestine, land

of Refugees, her Father

a quiet Carpenter

of gentle Patience and

sure Hand her Mother

teacher and Guide she

aimed at the Stars who

showed her the way into

Medicine healer of

wounds and aches with

a quiet Grace singer of

Gretchen at the spinning Wheel

and the Queen of the Night -- I see

her now in her hospital bed

breathing slowly now

she could not swallow she faded

into death with peace

and gentle forbearance my Mother

who bore me up when I

was down, whose compassion

of great depth

kept me afloat through difficult times, whose

love for me reminded me

of the beauty in the world the

neverending cycle of

birth and demise whose memories

will only grow with

Time this my Mother may

you rest in peace.