A white owl with red eyes
lands the sky
We twist around, go for
the open garden’s edge
drawn to the sounding river
because the back
is a flowing river
rising to silt
the danger darkness
has dropped over us
*
The lover, the friend,
and the stranger
each will betray you
the lover for passion,
which is beyond reproach,
the friend for gain,
which will not last,
the stranger for evil,
which has no recompense
With each you must go
willingly, permit all wounds
to bear touch, lose
the directions, and scar
threading sinuous
complexities
*
The brightening light
we wade in
obliterates distress
powerful
as a mountain,
dispersing agile winds
moving the owl onto
the last landing branch
as its wing tears
the feathers now stitched
to the taxidermist's
skeleton
Moving. Red eyes haunting.
ReplyDeleteI like how the run-on double meanings work especially in the first section
ReplyDelete