mars o'clock

Stealing beside me as an ochre whisper
phantom presence
a whisper
classically soft
slowly
erasing all negative space
blooming darkness

and
the quiet burn of a million stars 

"Make a strong line, don't sketch it out - be confident when you draw"

you told me once upon a time 

"Be sure"

Drawn then--
sure

held strong
with a kiss with the 

weight 

and
spin 

of this blue rock
exquisitely containing the 1939 World's Fair,
the soundtrack to Fantasia

and
The Partridge Family
calliope hummingbirds land on our tongues
flying into our stained-glass souls
as the 2:17 rolls thru town
A kiss ....
stealing all measure of hurt & rumpled sorrow
pheasant feathers and words weaved into
patchwork succulence
skin is diffused, forgiven--effervescent 

almost
inconsequential to the heart of the matter
bloom
hold
draw sure 

and
linger into this slumbered 

ghost kiss

trains

again . . 2:15
still

black dome of night
awake 

a train 

echoes 

a choir, a roar, a thunder
fortissimo to allargando
rolling
east to west
beneath a Libra moon
shining into fierceness
present
pausing
on this edge of autumn
on this dusty land that smells of golden
cooling ....
cooling
2:22

common

paint my limbs tourmaline
with a finger trace honey-ink upon scars
feed my numbness to wild canaries at a quarter to eleven
amber moon softened to pink
fog drifts into forgotten corners
and the mouthes of owls
who knew wool & wealth would chaff
the empty graveyards of October
rain will come
tomorrow
and
we will dance in skirts of stone & tulle
remembering the taste of
apples
and
autumn


rain will come

treatise

I believe I deserve rice pudding with raisins
a handful of cherries
with a side of
scotch, bitters & rye

I believe I deserve marshmallow fires
determined kisses by moonlight
and stars in the sky

I can swing dance long after midnight
while smells of October rise & twirl
and I can learn to love you like coconut cream pie
in the morning
two bodies unfurled

I believe
I've not trusted my origin-instinct
nor felt the power of these hands & heart
negating all feeling of plenty
in exchange for a treaty of
complacent apricot tarts

I'll learn you in prismatic colors
that lean in & hold
and 

we will dance often to
harmonica coyotes

with
tender blue tales of love ancient & bold 

moonlight and the bees-knees

Ah!
The days
regret aligns with Mars
--just an ordinary day;
the breeze from the west comes to unbuckle my heart
arrowing fiercely straight on through the dark

Alight in the wash of a pale tangerine sunrise
ripe with the harvest of fall
the sound of quiet is nothing if not ancient
the breeze in the maple tells all

No birds on this Thursday morning
no blue jay stealing my toast
just a tale and a ache a thousand years deep
and a flame that burns brighter than most

So untangle the honeysuckle nectar
smooth out the lines of regret
darkness brings the solace of moonlight
and
the tale is not over yet