Red Dress
2023
1 Yellow
A yearning for ofness
A flutter of wants
A plea for downcast eyes
for squirrelish glances
fingerling affections
breaths untied
raven caresses
ripe aggressions
visiting bliss
And a lifetime
Of forevernights
Not thinking oneself blessed
For never having sensed
The exigency of a future known
2 Blue
Shortwave happinesses shortlived
Shorting circles around the whole
Leaving wires frayed, plastic burned, signals broken
Such a shame that new dreams rest lightly
On a galvanized grove
But still the smoke signs whisper
That it had been ecstatic and odd
The elfen something in that skyward feeling
That the earth could be a single stigma
And two open petals the fat of your palms
So still fancy falls
And finds this gulf
a forest with no trees
a floor and no relief
3 Red
Yet fancy has a way of crashing every sound analogy
Bending syllogisms around a lothesome, outpointed finger
And making is and was traitors against the worldsdeep game of hope and regret
Placing hollow gems and fool's gold before too sensitive feet
And giggling into their hands because
All that is given, after all, is the long road away from paradise
How could you not giggle too?