How shall man punish them that have injured him?
Let him do them a good turn and make them ashamed in their hearts. – Thiruvalluvar
Tag: poet
The snap in the air
Something about the snap in the air
pulls everything into sharp focus
Your breath and mine become tangible
as the leaves disintegrate
Now that the snow’s coming down
we can’t blame childhood anymore
One of these days
I’m going to ride on the back of those clouds
one of these days
even if it rips the skip from my bones
and grinds me down to hamburger
I’m going to feel quicksilver in my veins
and wildfire in my intestines
even if all of my hair falls out
and my bones turn into mush
I’m going to swallow an ocean of you
one of these days
You were an ocean
When I was younger
You were an ocean
A terrifying beauty
There were colors in your coral reefs I’d never seen before
Sometimes I drifted into your depths
until I couldn’t see the shore
Body surfing in your waves
until my muscles were sore
was as much fun as I had known
As much as I will ever know
The beasts that stirred in your depths
Could tear me apart in their teeth
And the dream of drowning in you was real
You covered so much of my world
Now that I’m older
You are a river
A soothing place to rest and watch the clouds roll by
I lie on my back and float in your current
and never lose sight of the shore
I skip my stones across you
and see my reflection in your placid surface
I see the sun setting across your lee shore
with all of the colors of coral
but behind it, the darkness is coming
Sometimes in the winter when you’re cold and hard
I walk over you
And have no fear
That I will drown in you
I wouldn’t mind, now, if I did
I wouldn’t mind, now, if
You were an ocean
Anxiety of course
Anxiety, of course,
and unknowable future heartlands
where malleable mountains ache to
satisfy my soul
wait with a mouth still wet from a hungry kiss
to lick
to smile
to tell that strange and potent ancient truth
A New Life
Somewhere in a smile or word
a disease that spread unchecked is cured
a weight is lifted, letting me
escape from dark eternity
and knowing things I hadn’t known
I find a new life being grown
Her Little Fingers
Her little fingers
almost pudgy, but not quite,
grasp at something beyond her reach
and, instead, touch me
