LEAVES

Inside these articulations
the beginnings of language
outside of yes and no
inside only the I want
the soul with the body meeting
in all the openly
meteoric leaves
and now, see:
one of them falls slowly
to the earth

*

WEAVING

The word by itself germinates
exists
beyond our decision for silence
every creature
on its path to the other
sings
but the threads of the planets
are distinct
no matter how closely they are woven
stutterings of half-traveled words
that though written
never mean what they say
or even what
you thought you meant to say

*

POPPY

When from a distance and within
the body opens like the petals of a flower
as when the poppy bends
weightless head from the inexpressible
there are no rooms then
doors couldn’t pen
or even shut
see them
it whispers to itself
see the time Eros chose to take me
in the flowering sea
in the deep dark

*From the book “Cicada”, New Directions, 2022.

**Translation from Greek: Brian Sneeden.