quadrille

I remember a good friend’s tattoo

Creating star charts with her own freckles -

Seems a better use of space.

Dolly Parton sings about leaving

Our palms touch as we weave quadrille

Breathless, dance and count, unfettered.

The record skips from reckless stomps

We roar and snake, uncaring.

The tea steeps near my

Waiting, freckled arms

And I am tempted to dip my wrist towards

the steaming kettle.

I look to the aquarium-green room,

Not a shimmer of that gaiety remains

But I beat out the counts with my spoon -

One, two. One, two.

Walk to the doors and be sure they are bolted

One, two

Shake up the dust, let it find new homes

One, two

Measure the sounds and turn all to silent

One, two

If it isn’t heard, it isn’t seen, it isn’t true.

The definition of a love knot

One phrase joins and licks at the next

Which is also the start

Of an infinite loop, an unending test

5 am tea in the dark.

As the routine ignites again

I tie up my robe,

forgetful of socks, untrained

To notice my cold.

Swirling love knot patterns

With milk in morning tea

I imagine you touch my forearm,

But it’s just first sunbeams.

Knot winds around to eat its own tail

Please no more dark when morning unveils.

Longear sunfish

Slippery sunfish -

Scaled barbs hook my exposed palms,

You were never mine.

future tense

the person i am,
the person i want to be,
shuffling the deck.

behind the trees

baby rattlesnakes
are more dangerous than grown
hold death, unknowing.