Breathing with a breath
which is both
not yours—and much bigger.
What is poetry?
The use of words
What is poetry?
The use of words
to overthrow
one’s slavery to words.
Or: nine gates and ten
windows in a ghost
town full of triggers.
What are words?
markings on a seashell;
pattern, rhythm,
dance.
What’s responsibility?
What’s responsibility?
Fear of disappointing others;
compatibility
without romance.
What is courage?
What is courage?
Not the fuel, but the exhaust
of love’s combustion
engine squealing.
What is love?
Hard to say,
since it permeates
everything. But it must be
something a little like gravity,
since it’s something you aren’t ever
free to stop feeling.
What is pain?
A c-fiber firing. Or
proof
of a change.
What is relief?
The breath steaming softly;
the darkness,
What is pain?
A c-fiber firing. Or
proof
of a change.
What is relief?
The breath steaming softly;
the darkness,
still downrange.
What is breath?
What is breath?
(See also: singing.)
Hospice nurse
of grief.
What is death?
Like birth, it’s a feeling
of finally waking up
without having gone to sleep.
