A DREAM OF A MOMENT

beauty, if it exists,
is young, still, an image

locked in time, captured
at rest, exposed to con-

quest, protected behind
glass, a dream of a moment

that sings, "this cannot
last." beauty if it exists

is born in the unconscious
present, yes, but lives purely

in the sentimental
past.

WITHIN

would that i could remain
among the clouds, sane just
a few moments more

but the air is cold and thin
and I am only up here visiting.
the earth far below is my home

full of warm air and family,
varied rancor and calamity and
so i descend sneaking a piece

of the vast indifferent sky
hidden safely within me.

BEST BURDEN

fatherhood is the best

burden i have

shouldered; we say

we raise children

but truth is we

carry them always

our hearts nearly bursting

from the strain, and just

when we set them down

they need back up again.

old people have been known

to shrink under the weight of this

glorious

unrelenting

perfect

pain.