The Wooded Valley
of Hidden Sticks
the blend of tree frog
and poison dart
the drinking and the rolling in the mud
the arrows that scream across the room
shoes you pick up of the ground
The Shrouded Woman
sitting on a park bench
her hand on a book
its black so no mistakes
the drama unfolds like a newspaper
a glance here, a quick double take there
she knows to whom she signals
and the walls bleed refrigerated air
gusts of stolen breath
~~~
A Necklace made of Nettles
litanies and blasphemies
all that can be and can not be
waves of the mercury washed over wounds
the broken winds lapsed and lost empty rooms
the man walked out to sea
the wind stopped him from sinking
and his meeting at half past three
saved him from drinking
the lake of hidden sticks
the water hides
fate
the water hides everything important
lake of fear
walk around it
never to return
to the lip of the crater
peer inside and the blood
of the earth boils
itself dry
~~~~~