from the treetops
it rustles
light at first
almost a sudden
void of any sound
at all
then the trembling
underfoot begins
the sinking tilt-a-whirl
unreal
that
blots out
the sun
there dark things
do howl
there the memories
have the hungriest
mouths
there is familiar
worn smooth
slick with
grief
if you unfurl it
smooth the softness
down
arrange each
treasure across it
slowly
if you reach in and
pull out planets
reach down and
plant supernovas
that bloom without
warning
small at first
until they spiral beyond
sound
past even death
if you run your
razor along the edge
just maybe
you will get a
hello
underwater again
pressing all the flowers
i stole
into all the books
i wrote
cutting all my hair to the
scalp
binding up every book
with the fistfuls shorn
locks
underwater in the
quiet satin darkness
threading strands of
yesterday singing
inside a single
bubble of breath
sewing that into
a sharp orange coral
key
soul fireflies
holding hands
holding down
letting
go
the sun is
sick
all swollen and feverish
inside her slick
shroud
the sky a once
blue veil
the sun is sick and
the people are
clawing up
the earth is
already
dead so
dance anyway
call ancestors anyway
swallow love in gulps
sing as if your
last breath is
counting on it
anyway
when i said i know how
to swim in poison
water
i didn’t tell you
about the creatures
that survive those
dark oily waves
gasp onto shore
only to find
a hemlock hell
i didn’t tell you
how the water only
made their souls
glow phosphor
and the pinwheel
hemlock high
only served to make
their hearts serve
the world
that there are no
limits
now
i was startled awake
while it was still dark
thought i was homeless
again didn’t recognize
my surroundings again
misremembered timelines
then began the scared rabbit
heartbeat
rickety rickety rickety
roller coaster
sick feeling
i always choose to
ride
to push myself
to impossible heights
shock my heart with
the very stars
free fall to earth
land in my home
body curled against
the edge of the bed
still humming
the word
hush
equinox and i
want to tell you
about how i
just discovered the rings of
a tree each taste
sweeter as they get
closer to the heart
but first i
want to ask you
do you know
you are
dead
