Sand

if ghosts were given flesh
they would be wallpaper for sunset

the open-mouthed birthcry of your day
would set my eyes to flame

there is a cave inhabited by troglodytes in operating scrubs
it holds the earth’s nervous system as a baby would in its paw

when i first visited here i didn’t notice the cobblestones
it was all sand to me     not yet bunched into stone

whenever i see a historical hero’s statue at an intersection
i see that he can stare in one direction only

the sand blows slowly through the city
each grain with its own hands opening for the first time

from Oedipus' First Lover (2009)

The Concept of Travel

the concept of a brick breathing
feet missing last year’s steps
dead people talk among dead buildings
the voices between them fading like memory into the facade

so he fell face up on a barroom floor
which one is this?     voice of the bartender
he’s out cold but he’s smiling     which century
did he fall from this time?

consider the virgin mary
pink in complexion no longer yellow or blood blue
she holds the strange antennaed infant to her chest
the gulps of alien suckling     noise bouncing off the walls
think i died once     fell     cracked my head
the minister said i was smiling    head on the bricks    on the clouds

from Oedipus' First Lover (2009)