It's in pieces: the mind, the Kleenex box with torn openings,
the cables and cord extensions stretched out like the markings of where a round table would be.

The no ending, unending, infinite: the sense of loss;
warm metal carrying the intermittent ticking of the electric surges, Excalibur without its scabbard

Speak of fires, infestations
Mountain pine so unholy
Speak of limb rot, dank rain fungus
Speak of barren lands, absent birds
No beak nor burrow to sow seeds
Of drought that parches to the root
Speak of gale force destruction

It took all night to get to the bottom floor
under the tree roots and the cicadas and the fossils.
Like anyone, I wondered if I’d found the way to Hell,
but there were no screams layered like torn fabric
on one another begging God’s mercy. There were no
flames, no bald bodies crying, stranded across
the ashen floor of an oceanless beach. There were

Last night, I was in a grim, dusty, subdued Poland,
like a modern theatrical production imagining medieval gloom,
bleached palette, pre-industrial quiet, charred air.

The burning comes earlier
and earlier each year, as we march
our way further down this angry path.
Seems I can recall passes
round the sun where snow
still fell in great heaping drifts
from the sky well into March.

waves crashing over us
i said goodbye to your

         two hands cupping a prismatic star
         shining lighthouse bright
         over dark, indigo waters

first they called me woman,
then sorceress,
then beast.

blessed in girlhood, I knew men
wouldn’t love me for my magic.

Now, this is most important: Before the light in their eyes flicks off
you must ignite the wick, set it near the head, be ready to reignite it in
case breath or wind or rain snuffs out the flame. If you trip, the
mortal’s thread will be at risk of seizure because the distance

As she’s borne softly on the waves,
salt hangs aloft, brining her lips.
Palm trees sway on nearby shores,
but unease gathers in her heart.
It’s paradise, yet she’ll not forget:
her home feels like it’s not enough.

If you love me, you will burn.
Put your cheek against mine
and feel the heat my bones
release into the world. We plant
ourselves in dry soil and gather