09-15-2023, 12:32 AM
Done Making Sense
I paid him in pennies
from the time of Jesus.
She was the pick of a litter
from leftover dreams of Babylon
thin blonde hair, high cheekbones
face roughened by the years
but gray eyes and a slight but
sweet smile as we talked
about where I found the pennies
and how she’d just recovered
from lead poisoning.
Blue sky over the mountains
obscured by the thick haired pines,
blue jays, nut hatches, chickadees, finches
and a single dove come to eat our seed.
Bread baking in the oven.
“Deliver yourself from your great toe
then the companion comes,
and him you can trust.”
Outpourings from a full night’s sleep
and the onset of caffeine euphoria
fill morning sunlight that penetrates
every spirit that haunts me.
Some of them flee, others wrap their arms
round me. Buster runs back and forth
on the deck, hunting from a distance
chipmunks and ground squirrels.
The rush of words dwindles to a trickle,
the every day resumes at the sound of a buzzer.
Time to take the bread out of the oven.
I paid him in pennies
from the time of Jesus.
She was the pick of a litter
from leftover dreams of Babylon
thin blonde hair, high cheekbones
face roughened by the years
but gray eyes and a slight but
sweet smile as we talked
about where I found the pennies
and how she’d just recovered
from lead poisoning.
Blue sky over the mountains
obscured by the thick haired pines,
blue jays, nut hatches, chickadees, finches
and a single dove come to eat our seed.
Bread baking in the oven.
“Deliver yourself from your great toe
then the companion comes,
and him you can trust.”
Outpourings from a full night’s sleep
and the onset of caffeine euphoria
fill morning sunlight that penetrates
every spirit that haunts me.
Some of them flee, others wrap their arms
round me. Buster runs back and forth
on the deck, hunting from a distance
chipmunks and ground squirrels.
The rush of words dwindles to a trickle,
the every day resumes at the sound of a buzzer.
Time to take the bread out of the oven.
