Witness

The ancient house emptied,
shuttered against the light;

on the wallpapered wall
of the study,

the gilt-edged portrait
of the dutiful young wife;

to the right of the picture,
the old widow's window,

framed for life.

(First published in Two Review 2009)

Attic Black-Figured Loutrophoros, Early 5th Century

After the mourners finish,

(The chin-strap fixes
The jaw shut),

Another black hole opens.

(First published in Arabesques Review, v.2, issue 4)

The Presentiment

Verily we feel
Our bones shall follow

The wake,
To wake

In the dark
Of the morrow,

To find the glow-
Worm's glimmer,

Its spineless undulating underbelly
Underpinning

Our very marrow.


(First published in Kater Murr's Press)

Evocative

"My view of poetry is the description
of a thought evoking a mystery."
--Magritte

So beautifully
thought, so beautifully

said, so beautifully
evoked, a mystery

mystery's taken away.

(from The Intricate Evasions of As)

Temporal

tintinnabulation

of
sheep

bells
flock
below

open
window

herds
songs
through
tempo

airily

(from The Intricate Evasions of As)

(De)crypt(ed)

Who will calculate for us the cost of our decision to forget?
--George Seferis

Of those departed
and of their deeds

(most haunting,
most memorable)

naught was left

(undeciphered,
unforgettable)

to remember.

Thomas Alva Edison, 1949

I knew who Thomas Alva was by heart;
he was always twenty-five, suspended

over my bed like a bat, though
he was really a light bulb.

Thomas must have flickered and died
about twenty-five times before Momma said

she'd had enough: I'd go blind reading
comics in that bad light. She was right,

besides, it was cheaper,
so she burned them all one night.

.

Thomas Alva, wherever you are,
you helped me with the English I know,

it was all Greek to me, though
you never knew it--

I hope you're resting
yours truly, your enlightened

incandescent soul.

(First published in Maverick Magazine 6/7)