poetry
walks with me
whispers in my ear
makes the strawberries in the grass
more vivid
as i stumble on the stick
poetry missed

34

i watched the monster
eat a tree
reach up to its height
and crush it
splintering
to earth
and scrape the earth
with its remains
pounding them
flat
i watched the monster
hating the monster
in the monster
there is a man
pulling the puppet levers
the gaping maw
his arm
tearing
destroying
but in his face
his grim
lined
face
there is sadness
disgust
for what he must do
he stops the monster to ask
do i want the wood?
my poverty he says
but not my will consents
yes
i want the wood
i hate the monster
but i cannot hate
the man.

33

i fell in love
today
for a scant second
but still
it grabbed and shook me
imagine
my surprise
he was painting
a brick storefront
on a scaffold
picking it out
in wet-slick gray
from its unremarkable
surroundings
a previously barricaded
DOOR
stood open
it was
the god-like act
of creating something
where there had been nothing
that won my heart
and eternal devotion
if only for
a moment.

ht.