encore literary magazine

 Wind and sky
From a letter to Anita, Georgia O’Keeffe

Tonight I walked into a sunset…
the whole sky blazing – so much of it out here,
grey-blue clouds rioting through the hotness
eastern sky grey-blue – bunches of clouds
sticking everywhere and the whole thing lit up –
first in one place – then in another –  flashes
of lightning.

I walked out past the last house –
past the last locust tree –
and sat on the fence for a long time –  just looking
at the lightning – there was nothing
but sky
flat prairieland – land that seems more ocean.
There was a wonderful moon.

I just sat there – 
had a great time all by myself –
just the wind
and sky.

Early Morning
for GH

Riding the wrong way
down the one-way street;

her limbs splayed at his back,
they’re making a habit of abandoned

caution. Everything is quiet
but for tires grinding the wet pavement,

his legs thrumming the rhythm
of rubber on asphalt.

Later she’ll wish
they’d taken the long way home.

Maybe the scenic route,
by way of China.

All You Need

I know you.
All you need is a warm bed
And your flashing dreams.
All you need is a forest and a fire,
Blue silence and a storm.
All you need is to carry
An immeasurable weight,
And the desire to send it
Crashing into the sea –
Only you don’t let it drop.
All you need is a darkened shore
And the impression of my footprint.
All you need is your nest
And for the rest to sail out of view.
All you need is a tree full of leaves
And a leaf full of trees
And a childhood book of gulls.
All you need is my scent on your clothes
And my promise to be there tomorrow.
All you need is to laugh at me
And cry at me
And the comfort of our jigsawed souls
As we float through the fog in the dark.
All you need is my wrinkled and bony hand
Fifty or so years from now
Squeezing tightly
Thirty seconds before I’m gone.