Waiting

Having turned the
adjective that described
it inside out, we
waited behind a

tree to see what
would happen.
You leaned your
head against my

high expectations
while we waited.
A bird sang its song
backwards.  We

were still waiting when
time dropped its anchor.

First

A cookie happily
assumes the shape
of the instrument
used to cut it.

Man, created
in the image
of God, does
not.  He pulls

away from the
mirror and tosses
a grenade into
God's bedroom.

God blinks, then
causes himself again.

After Beo Dao

Fish, embarrassed
by their anchors,
study the sky
from underwater

and dream of
flying.  A star,
turning out its
lamp, lies

down in the
dark.  An ostrick
buries its head
in the sand,

fleeing
the inevitable.

Solar
(Mayakovsky)

Evening empties its
ashtray.  I seek
solitude in
numbers again,

confused (as usual)
by the beating
of my own
heart.  There

being nowhere
to go but away,
I refuse to leave.
Like the sun, I

have burned my
bridges behind me.

Almost Immediately

Noon times two
equals the sum
of its missing parts.
A student enters

the room on
tiptoe to avoid
waking the teacher.
A doctoral candidate

in math who has
buried a hatchet
in the skull of his
professor realizes

almost immediately that
he has made a mistake.

When

Stepping through dawn's
crevice, you come
across an object
in search of its

shadow.  Just when
it seems more can
be expected of
life, evening slams

shut its door.  The
sky drops a heavy
blanket over the
top half of the

earth.  A bird teaches
its song to swim.

Downstream

A river flows
through your
room, carrying
the familiar

farther downstream.
The moon has
shrunk to the
size of a smile

in your dream.
Poetry is wounding
you in the usual
spots.  A rosebud

clenches its fist
in protest.