Alternate Sequence
Knowing is the benchmark
of happiness
--to cross the street even in a charred region
toward a sanctuary lit by signs copied
from scrolls.
Men of science have searched all night
for the exact nuance of each letter.
A woman commanded to
shelter in place, I find
my hunger creates
its own library
*
Being present isn’t personal
said the dharma teacher
you’re just part of a shared process
I can accept that loss
but my jaw aches from someone’s teeth grinding
all night
*
Some say an onion is the wisest plant
or sleek garlic in its parchment sleeve
Fragile ladders harvest the fabled apple
its powder of white insecticide
That was the old planet.
Now everything exists
under a pressure that excision cannot remove
--yet the brigade of breaths
continues to arrive.
Receptors form the frailest wings
and each boy goes his own way
Knowing is the benchmark
of happiness
--to cross the street even in a charred region
toward a sanctuary lit by signs copied
from scrolls.
Men of science have searched all night
for the exact nuance of each letter.
A woman commanded to
shelter in place, I find
my hunger creates
its own library
*
Being present isn’t personal
said the dharma teacher
you’re just part of a shared process
I can accept that loss
but my jaw aches from someone’s teeth grinding
all night
*
Some say an onion is the wisest plant
or sleek garlic in its parchment sleeve
Fragile ladders harvest the fabled apple
its powder of white insecticide
That was the old planet.
Now everything exists
under a pressure that excision cannot remove
--yet the brigade of breaths
continues to arrive.
Receptors form the frailest wings
and each boy goes his own way