Plains
When I sit, paper before me,
Thoughts within
Concentrating on my hand's pen -
My perturbations sink
To one placid level - the devil
Takes his ease and stretches
To a pleasing surface that lasts ...
Flat, unruffled, unscratched
Miles-wide dormancy and pale air ...
Until, study done, I resume
Life's resurging, its conflicting
Crescendo of growth and bloated
Eating that gnaws at my
Insides where strife is
Digested, and settles, where
All is trouble, all is stormy
Waters never still - I am
Commanded by his devil
Throwing stones at me -
Forcing me to grow through
Exigency: all pitchfork
Pain and squeal -
I am too constrained too
Contaminated with the real.
previous poem
next poem