The child on a swing Flung backwards and pumping Tiny toes stretching For buds in the trees Nothing exists but whoosh rushing wind, and Gravity’s pull and the creak of the chain Urge high and higher “Now push me again!” The garden is ripe Zucchini green plumping in shimmering heat Sprawled onto the lawn Swim-suited youth unfurl in the sun, give Exultant shrieks as they leap off the pier Plunge deep green craters, Then sun-sparkled splash This moment, immobile Attention absorbs But viewed from a distance Perspective reveals Procession unfurling Inevitable Whatever just happened Expect it again Another raw night Bleak light creeping in A weary repeat All hope leaching out Coffee flask drips precious hourglass grains Moon has delayed its return once again Pared back one more strip Thin sliver remains Now every breath grates Like the shingle, surf-dragged The ebb tide sinking Feels an endless decline Monotonous anguish, grinding dull grey Faint distant gleam bleeds horizon line stain Swells up overhead Dawn breaches the rim The moment, immobile Attention absorbed But viewed from a distance Perspective reveals Procession unfurling Inevitable Whatever just happened Expect it again (It’s) all very well to place your faith In dawn’s return, The waxing moon For comfort in declining years Believe the pulse Rolls ever on Believe the pulse Rolls ever on Within the endless scroll of time Concentric wheels Spin synchronized Your puny vision echoing Unfounded hope Endless repeat Unfounded hope Endless repeat With infinitesimal click A gap yawns wide Between the teeth To swallow you and all you’ve touched Drop out of sight Without a trace Drop out of sight Without a trace

You’ve got that wriggling ants in pants A jiggly wiggly can’t sit still Sa|vation is a fire bath A pure soul cleansing ritual Proclaim ablutophobia Shun basin, soap, don’t wash your hair Abandon coast, ascend the scarp Inhale the harsh dry desert air Locate the locus, power point Surround it, slowly closing in Embrace its pulsing potency Converge until you’re vibrating There split dry logs, crack brittle twigs Build pyramid of ready fuel Shave bark of birch, heap thistle fluff Add drought-parched grass, combustible Jump, jump, jump Stomp, stomp, stomp Jump, jump, jump – Hoi! Shake off the dust Be still and hush your swarming thoughts, Internal murmuring remarks Now meditate, envision fire: Sharp scrape the flint: release the sparks One smoking star to tinder drops Breathe soft the invocation prayer The tiny jewel brighter grows, Lean in, exhale, coax flame to flare Jump, jump, jump… The spirit wakens, blooms to life With rush of light, shadows fall back The conflagration blazes up With flush of warmth and kindling snap Infuse yourself with fragrant smoke Let radiation penetrate Peel atoms off, strip clean away You’re pared to glowing filament Jump, jump, jump…

With languid eyes, reclined on her divan, Smoke coiling slow off of her cigarette, She reaches up, behind, to flick The dangling ash Like patient swish of feline tail, In ambush crouched. The sultry night imbues her lush boudoir. Serrated spreading ferns, lush orchids yawn, Infused with immobility. With tranquil grace, Lifts Hepburn holder to her lips, Drags slow and deep. Deep, silent sigh launches one perfect ring Rotating up, beyond the lamp-lit gloom. Rousing, she turns and pierces me With kindled eyes; Slow heaving silk-swathed breast betrays The roil within.

Your chronic discontent: A painful goad Is lodged bone-deep. An ancient rasping shrapnel grates: The biologic spur. All urgency assuaged: The family fed Beneath safe roof. A smooth and easy groove inworn, Yoked to your duty’s course But somehow still you chafe Against your polished seat. Dream-reach for apple’s glint, tip-toed A top rung ladder stretch Wobbling unstayed in tree-top breeze Deep swaying canyons yawning underneath The gnawing urge beckons And penetrates your sleep. Awake with jolt to pale blue eye, Limbs wrapped in twisted sheets. Compelled from bed, on haunted quest To wasteland glen, conjure a new conquest Look down to see the wrinkled sky: Dense midnight curds, splay silver-edged, Reclusive moon imbued, Creep o’er the seething surface, cauldron brew. Black, massive bulbous iron squats On bloodshot coals. Bare wisps of smoke Curl in the pre-dawn chill: The hoarded incubating heat betrayed. And then a glimpse from deep within The potion’s dregs, cracked bones and sludge, Gleams gold through viscous scum. Behold the glowing bulge your spell invoked. With fascination, stare into the pot: Upheaving orb of crackling crust, Distending cinder plates Crack fractal seams, Release the molten fury bound within. Time was, you’d square to any daunting threat. But with your incantation loose, Tumescence run rampant, Implacable, You quail against indomitable brunt Slow motion surge impacts, peels back your skin, Strips off your flesh. You’re whittled down To glowing filament. The swell rolls past, You stand, rejuvenated in dawn’s light.