The Gesture

"WHAT'S YOUR INTERPRETATION?", a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

The giant hand
gestures at
the homeless man
as if to say,
"See there,
a person in despair,
who must firmly grasp
his shoe straps and
hoist himself
into the air."
He is unaware
of the hovering attention,
the condescension.
The "invisible hand"
offers little
in the way
of a plan
that he can follow
or understand.
She pulls away
as if to say,
"You are not worth
the time of day"
and shoves up
her sleeves
to do nothing.

Re-Entry

Life is a fall
from a great height,
a star-heart birth
and journey through
endless space.

Meandering in the void

until picking up speed
with mounting terror
as temperatures rise
in the middle years.

A growing realization
that the extreme heat
is burning away
impurities of the soul
until a final plunge…

into the cool ocean depths of death.

***

Purple Foot

Purple Foot, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

***
left foot forward
right to the rear
a quick counter-clockwise
spin of the torso
arms flung outward
holding the hips still
as long as possible
until the tension
is too great and
the right foot lifts
from the ground
whipped around in
an arc of unwinding
energy until meeting
a piece of piano
with an abrupt halt
and the failure of
vascular integrity
accompanied by
a rush of pain
***

An Utter Fool

***

My son is asleep in his bed
and he is beautiful.
He sleeps soundly,
at peace,
because love
tucked him in.
Watching him breathe,
my mind winds its way
back to a troubling past,
the days before I was married
and had little thought
for my own safety.
Seeing him lying there,
his life dependent on mine
both now and in the days
prior to his birth
for the sake
of what was to come,
I shudder in thinking
of the numberless times
I put myself in danger,
without a care,
on some adventure,
giving my physical wellbeing
over to chance,
whether here or overseas,
with friends or alone,
and I feel like an utter fool.

***