Blackbird Orchard

winter orchard full
of resting blackbirds

clouds of them floating
above the treetops

feathery fruit

warming bare branches
stirring slow sap with
fluttering fast-beating

life

Animal Eyes

The frozen January field was a confused checkerboard
Of dirt clods and patches of grass when the ground
Suddenly rose
From the frost to take flight

Geese resting invisible

I knew this 
Smiling with the delight of the utterly
Unexpected 

When four more shapes separated
From the earth 
To meet the air beating wildly
And I was taken by surprise
All over again

I breathed deep
Blinking and
Trying to reason with my animal eyes

So this is where magic comes from
They said

This moment of illogic when I
Feel new and fresh and young to the world
Like a brittle boned fawn
Wide eyed and shaky legged and shockingly
Shockingly

Alive.

How to Drink Tea

Sad girl,

step into my parlor

and I will teach you to hold

your nose up high,

to crook your pinkie just so.

I will teach you to keep your back

ramrod straight

and off the cushions.

And more than that,

I will teach you to hide your frowns

behind a fragrant curtain of steam,

to let your tears fall

into your china teacup,

washing your sorrows down with honey

and Darjeeling.

I will teach you to smile

like you have a wonderful secret

and to scald your tongue

when the crazy starts building up

inside you.

And when I am done,

I promise,

no one will ever see

how sad you are beneath

the Lady.

Killing Time

(in which I do not use the letter 'e')

My days run too long, but
so captivating if caught
and hung on hooks,
small ways to kill my hours.

I cannot pay my own bail
out of this prison,
but I can go on safari:
shoot days down coldly,

watch as my victims
grow small and frail,
skittish with my hunting,
thin ghosts I cannot banish.

In The Dark

the people we see every day

shoving shoulders as they crowd

choking the streets with

their individual loneliness

we don't want to be like them

but though we constantly try
to connect

we always miss

one another in the dark

plugs seeking outlets

some divine fire to light us

and give us purpose

finding only others like ourselves

we press longingly

unable to make a spark

Oulipo Exercises

A
no
run
zone
makes
me kick
my heels
off and go
dancing go
singing hey
where is it
a must run
zone and
why do I
need a
zone
why
do
I

~*~

"It's interesting the way people present their plumage," she says,
jealousy in her eyes as she watches the girl in the
killer heels, killer dress,
lavender and fuchsia peonies printed across silk
moving with her every shimmer, leaving her
naked to the hungry eyes
of the men, husbands included.
"Perhaps she needs it to feel secure" I say
quietly, knowing it's the wrong thing, though
really, nothing could be right.
She's determined to be angry,
trying to pretend it doesn't scare her
underneath it all, underneath the scorn,
veil ripped aside:
white skin flashing, the girl walks,
x-rated dreams in the men's gazes,
youth so far away from the rest of us, the
zebra girl dancing amongst the jackals.

Rock n Roll Girl

You're a rock n roll girl
girl of the rock n roll man
and you follow him 
into the spotlight
down the red carpets
getting all the glare
and none of the warmth

You go to the parties 
seeking company of some kind
the kind you don't find at home
anymore
and you guess he's doing 
the same thing
though you never ask

And so you pretend
pretend you are shiny and new
and you smile for the cameras and still
dye your hair 
even though he stopped noticing
after he got in the rags

It's true that
you don't really know 
why you're in this anymore
but you're a rock n roll girl
and you just aren't sure 
if you could ever be 
anything else now

Though you know 
that the fans, well, 
they all hate you and shout
that you're a shameless slut and a bitch
and don't deserve whatever it is
they think you're getting

What were your dreams 
before you were swallowed up
in the game, 
in the papers and the scandals, 
in his eyes,
the ones that never seem to be 
looking at you anymore?

What did you hope for yourself
before you met him,
before he made it,
before it all went to shit?

You rock n roll girl
living the dream
waking with red eyes
in an empty bed,
the one you made 
thinking you would never stop
being happy.