Validity
At the right angle,
A lining of delicate gold
Showed underneath her
Dusty brown feathers,
Proof that
The Cries resounding
From the croaking, scraping Throat
Were the Cries of Veins
Tied by the Hands
Of God.
Red-Lidded Eyes
Red-lidded eyes look down
On the stillness of snow —
Red-lidded eyes look down,
For they always know
Why the roses bleed out,
Spidering their delicate
Sugar-string webs
Over everything we crave
And all that we fear,
Just barely grazing
The Love we always prayed
Was Bruiseless.
Kaleidoscope
If you put the glass to your eye
Like a telescope, it’s
Tea leaves and gritty wine dregs
And deep warm coffee grounds
As far as the eye can See,
And maybe Farther.
If you put the glass to your eye,
Like a kaleidoscope,
It’s puffs of pollen and splotches of
Lemonade, and the deep smoky
Dusk of coffee in the morning,
As far as the eye can See,
And even Farther.
Wing Finding
I will not hurt you, she said, taking
The child’s trembling hands in her own.
Her eyes were wide and lost, and
Searched unblinkingly for something
Like home in hers. She smelled of
Dish soap and rosemary and wood,
And although her fingers were networked
In wrinkles and discolored by bulging veins,
They were soft as light.
I will be with you, she said, and wherever you are,
I shall be too. Fear not, for the
Birds mark the path for us all.
The child, too overcome to reply,
Gripped her hand in gratitude,
And the Weight lifted from her chest and
Became Her Wings.