Pigeons skim over the mall, then scatter,
break like a rolling surf over the crowds below,
hawking in dry wind slipping down from the mountains,
swarming up to nest in the stone and glass façade –
a flock of St. Germain gargoyles grinning at ghosts;
it is Spring, and hopeful light chases away shadows,
the sun melting iced wing-tips with gold […]
Wendy’s chest aches, waiting.
Death’s hungry lips
no longer suckles her bosom
or paws at her womb.
The breast pump, dried and disused, still
sits in the unopened box, wrapped in plastic
dust coats the empty cup.
An inconvenient reminder of
a miscarried life
a stillborn future trapped
in never was and never will be.
A perfect crescent moon incision
crosses her heart, broken once,
traces love’s wane
her […]
Elephantine skies
weigh down prairie flatlands
where sagebrush swats at
grainy memories,
kicked up with each step
like black flies
let loose from a peaty ditch.
A fine ochre of yellow and brown dust
blows hot over the stalks and straw of
an endless sea of wheat.
It salts my face and hair,
the grit gets under my shirt
and chaffs my chest.
If you follow the curved […]
The highway through the graveyard
of Frank is a granite moonscape
that glows bone white at night.
But we drove through in August heat
that melted the waxy wings of angels,
the sun bearing down to warm the dead.
Even flies curl up under stones.
Here, the blue turtle’s ancient sleep broke.
A single fin drooped down to shatter dreams.
Humble Frank is silent […]
A hot iron sun blazes
sometimes the colour of wild roses,
and at others, golden rod and flax,
and brands the tips of an endless sky.
The wind never stops here.
The wind, it blows east,
riding long freight trains
to a point beyond the parallax
of Kreisel’s broken globe.
Thunderheads lick a flat earth
with wet kisses and rainbow promises
of mythical gold
to be found
at […]
