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Archive for April, 2013

Sticky

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 10, 2013| 1 Comment »

No one ever said
how high the apple was,
and just how much

of a stretch it might have been
for Eve to pick it.
I think about this today

as I reach for the small, round
purple fruits I cannot name.
There is pleasure and

frustration in not knowing
what to call something
so pleasuresome, so good.

The tree is tall. I do not
need a snake to invite me
to reach. And when I

devour the sweet purple flesh
and the soft cream around
the large black seeds,

I do not need anyone
to bid me take another bite.
I do not share.

From not far away, a rooster
crows. From not far away,
the sound of wind disturbing

dried banana leaves. Those
trees are not so difficult to reach.
Scent of the sea, is it? I do not

pause long to consider the possibilities,
purple juice streaming down
the long, not quite long enough

reach of my arm.

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Just When I Think I Know

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 9, 2013| 1 Comment »

I do not believe him
when he says he sees
the sea turtle. But there
it is, like a giant round of driftwood,
disappearing into the turquoise
waves and unkempt white froth.
And there another.
It is so hard to know
what to do when
we doubt
is proved to be true.
Now what to do
the next time I know
he is lying or exaggerating.
Already, he is swearing
he sees the gray whales
off the dark cliffs and already
I feel that flock of doubts
rise up and swarm my thoughts.
So human, I tell myself,
to question him, so human
to want to believe.
I don’t know, I tell him,
that seems unlikely.
My eyes scan the tousled sea.

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Who Can Say?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 8, 2013| 1 Comment »

Already the body
is dawn. Before
the eastern glow. Before

the edges of darkness
give up any of their darkness.
It is not that we deserve it,

this light. It is just
that here it is,
inside us, continuing

to grow, the way
plumeria seem to grow
on what looks like dead wood.

But grow they do, with
all that perfume, too,
and all that milky white.

Who can say how
such beauty comes
from what looks

lifeless? But it does.
Your blossoming,
my blossoming.

Crazy how light
it can be,
this darkness.

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New Neighbor

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on April 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

So surprising,
that elephant when he walked
through the door clearly marked
elephant, a door
I never knew I had.

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Treatment

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on April 4, 2013| 4 Comments »

God says, Sit over there, there
where it’s hot. Now steep.
God says, wait there for me.
I wait. I do not understand
what any of the signs
around me mean.
God calls my number.
I rise. She lays me naked
on a table. I close my eyes.
She scrubs me. And scrubs.
Without mercy, she scrubs.
It is a long time before
I understand that the small
gray rolls beside me are
my own layers coming off.
Not one inch of me
is forgotten. She adds salt
and she scrubs. She adds soap,
and she scrubs. She lathers me
then rinses me. She turns me. She hums.
There is no chit chat. No
q & a. No whys. She covers me
in warm towels and pulls me
against myself. She climbs
on the table and straddles me. She makes
of my body a drum and beats
loud slaps on my head,
in both armpits, on my right
then left thigh. God coves me
in oil, then rubs me till I shine.
I am just another body. She
turns me into silk. She grinds
her elbow between my ribs. She
bathes me in warm milk.
I do not mourn the layers gone.
I do not ask God to explain.
There is more to come off,
she runs her hands through my hair,
but only so much at a time.

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Who Knows When Tomorrow Will Arrive?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on April 3, 2013| 3 Comments »

It does not matter
if you are right
or wrong. Kiss me.
There are terrible
things we have done.
Yes. Now kiss.
It is snowing.
I’ll kiss you. It is clear.
You kiss me. It is late.
There are so many things
left to do on our list—
such as kiss.
Though we are lost
and the day has fallen off
its chair, there is still
so much kissing
not to miss. Somewhere
there are snakes recoiled.
Somewhere there
are floods rising.
Here is our chance,
right beside the fruit basket,
for lips to find lips
and do for the heart
what a sparkler does
for the moonless night—
it may not go far,
that tiny light, but for
these moments,
it’s shining, it’s
light enough.

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Five Admissions

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 1, 2013| 2 Comments »

The truth is, we don’t really want to be free from desire or to admit that clinging to the pleasures of the senses—the taste of delicious food; the sound of music, gossip, or a joke; the touch of a sexual embrace—ends unavoidably in disappointment and suffering. We don’t have to deny that pleasant feelings are pleasurable. But we must remember that like every other feeling, pleasure is impermanent.
—Bhante Gunaratana, “Desire and Craving,” Tricycle Magazine

so soon I find it—
the bottom
of the potato chip bag

*

make us more bonobo
than chimpanzee, preferring
to fuck than fight

*

all night, the same
refrain after every bit of news:
April Fools

*

sound of flamenco
guitar, I will pay you a hundred poems
to play one more hour

*

missing this:
your lips, your lips, too long gone
between each kiss

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