Still Veiled

Sweetness! I dearly remember the aching flow
of time. The haunted Decembers, glacially-bound,
frozen, despaired. Still veiled, you refused to go

Continue reading “Still Veiled”

Anastasia

Anastasia, at rest,
the dancelight is blue,
closed fist, she raises it,
thumbing her nose

Continue reading “Anastasia”

The Cutting Box

One thousand cuts,
drip-dry, spot-by-spot…

I haven’t bled to death,
but I am so, so tired
of hearing the thunder
from those anguished drops.

Continue reading “The Cutting Box”

The Good Captain

He hammered rivets
into the hull
of the ol’
Edmund Fitzgerald. Continue reading “The Good Captain”

Pits and Canyons

Begin your life,
bundles and sheafs,
thumbtacks and tape,
carefully leave
each picture, placed,
level, straight, spaced,
accordingly. Continue reading “Pits and Canyons”

The Wake at Unicoi

At the wake on Unicoi,
out poured our worth,
once there,
we pushed and pulled,
and tore out holes,
by the fistful,
in that rocky
Appalachian
earth. Continue reading “The Wake at Unicoi”

Farewell to the Grandmothers

Today we gathered on the shore
and said goodbye to lovers long-gone
or farewell to the grandmothers
whose loving hands felt so warm. Continue reading “Farewell to the Grandmothers”

A Trick of the Light

The little wooden boy
has cherry-red cheeks
and a lick of black paint
swirling on his brow. Continue reading “A Trick of the Light”

Black Earth

Grief is the black dirt
that buries a treasure. Continue reading “Black Earth”

Cotton Sheets

Cotton sheets
are funeral shrouds
of fever-soaked hysteria. Continue reading “Cotton Sheets”