wild azalea

I Woke Up and By God

I woke up
and by God there was
a party going on

elephants and fancy cars
danced before
my hazy eyes

snakes in neon colors
twisted and twirled
Abel with his crazy hat

crowds of merrymakers
all floating over the ground
almost as high as when

my mother-in-law ascended to Heaven

and I remember the priests with their outstretched arms
sang so bold that the cathedral ceiling broke
and the songs rained down from Heaven and up again

and I was dancing even though no-one saw

yes, it was a grand wrap party
for the success (oh, absolutely!)
of the Tragedy of Marie

I sigh just to think of it

now let's start this party
for the tragedy
of me

walk that road

walk that road
where a night fragrance
turns your head
from the setting sun

walk that road
where tears
harden on your body
like waxen drops

walk that road
where thunder
rolls orders
to your marching feet

walk that road
where the lightning
whispers to your back
down a river of bone

green almonds

the night draws me
away, in the company
of remembered bells
and a smile
like green almonds and smoke

who spoke?
it was not for my ears
nor your smile for my eyes
nor the wine slipping
through my veins
into my heart's alleys

my hand remembers
waves over coral
in coffee-colored sunlight
that touch was not for my hand
nor the salt spray
over the anemones

along the rocks
I carry
songs drifting on the sea breeze
laughter
exhaled into darkness
green almonds
and a smile

rain

I have given you
rain flooding in rivulets
through fallen leaves
over clean pebbles
what more do you want?

I have given you
the knife that your father
used to slice his belly
that day in the rain
what more do you want?

I have given you
bird's feet splashing
wet wings drumming
trees split by thunder
what more, what more?

I have given you
a dry shelter
under dry leaves
and dry grass
curled and trembling

what more?
for that bright object
the sunlight
that distant thought
use the knife

robin singing before dawn

robin singing before dawn
your notes drifting like sparks
through sleeping stars

robin singing before dawn
over planets like dark embers
stirring under your night cries

robin singing before dawn
your notes falling like seeds
onto sheer canyon walls

robin singing before dawn
your notes piercing like bullets
through the arch of the sky

bridge in April

lean on love

lean on love
it is a flower
grasping the sun
between bending trees

lean on love
it is a shrub
flattened under its
miraculous blooms

lean on love
it is a train
speeding
to its next appointment

lean on love
when your waking breath
is the dust
of the cratered moon

cloud

over the harassed sand
of the shore

over trees clawed into the soil
cresting the hilltops
like marauding pirates

over beams of sunlight
that slice the underfringes of my belly
I slide

O the expanse of my being
beyond measuring
or description

I am
a lost illusion
a smile backlit by the sun

coolness on the cheek
a shadow, an ache
as solid as tears

what we do for love

what we do for love
will bear fruit

the one whose song
called the stone
from your heart

burned a scarlet trail
along the grass

the one who carved a window
to set free the moon

left you to stare
empty
through a glass

onto a soft horizon
where resting
in dew

what we do for love
will bear fruit

rising solid
over a rosy ocean

pulling blood tides
between islands

tibetan peony

mountain falls

the mountain falls
clear sky sings
like rocket fire overhead

was it lightning that split the stones
like new apples, cut faces glistening

was it sliding like mud, was it bleeding like lava
did it balance and explode
shooting trees to the sky like arrows, like escaping birds

rootless and free
separated, in quiet clouds
as our two lives split apart
rolling gently to the sea

first rays

you, the tallest tree
lifting me to the sun's kiss
morning's first smile

tenderly I sweep
old tangled blooms from your crown
revealing green shoots

where my soul goes

where my soul goes
you go with me
over acres of wild honey

behind sunlit flowers
I see you
where wild birds crease the water
cutting tracks
through the metallic shimmer
of fire

in the lace of new branches
I see you
in the hush of unfolding leaves
in the red violins
of the slanting sunset

I am no match for your absence
without the woven armor
of geese sailing
over evergreen shadows
and the shining chain mail
that the lake lifts
to cover my heart