“In the hills giant oaksFall upon their kneesYou can touch parts You have no right to”

“CROWNToo much rainloosens trees.In the hills giant oaksfall upon their knees.You can touch partsyou have no right to—places only birdsshould fly to.”

“If we have not struggled/as hard as we can/at our strongest/how will we sense/the shape of our losses/or know what sustains/us longest or name/what change costs us,/saying how strange/it is that one sector/of the self can step in/for another in trouble,/how loss activates/a latent double, how/we can feed/as upon nectar/upon need?”

“Even in climes/without snow/one cannot go/foward sometimes./Things test you./You are part of/the Donners or/part of the rescue:/a muleteer in/earflaps; a/formerly hearty/Midwestern farmer/perhaps. Both/parties trapped/within sight/of the pass.”

“A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at midnight.”

“One can't work/by limelight.//A bowlful/right at/one's elbow//produces no/more than/a baleful/glow against/the kitchen table.//The fruit purveyor's/whole unstable/pyramid//doesn't equal/what daylight did.”

“It’s hard notto jump outinstead ofwaiting to befound. It’shard to bealone so longand then hearsomeone comearound. It’slike some formof skin’s developedin the airthat, ratherthan have torn,you tear."Hide and Seek”