First, months

of flash, thud, shudder,

then the wailing...

                            Months,

that's half a young cat's life

That fire, they said, was red as red as red
as red as a fox, your lips, a cherry;
that fire, they said spread and spread and spread,
faster than a cheetah or a nasty rumour;

I give you clean air

You give me poisonous gas.

I give you mountains

You give me quarries.

I give you pure snow

You give me acid rain.

'Why do you run?' I asked the river,
'So fast I can't compete.'
'I run,' the river said, 'because
I have some streams to meet.'

Stand in line

they said.

So he did.

Toe the line

they said.

So he did.

Sign on

the dotted line

they said.

So he did.

I’m looking up into the sky

And I am thinking, how can it be this big?

Why is there so much of it?

How do we all fit?

I am thinking all these things

Eyes as wide as continents brim wih the water between.

Seeks a different future. Looks back on what has been.

Mouth seeks another language. Shapes a different air.