No Living Thing
A Poem written Spring 2020 by
Take the shape that you were already
Certain to
There will be no flare
Or rescue
No heat or light bill paid in full,
no touch from a living thing
That can vitalize your luck
Nothing for full becoming,
made easy or free.
The troops are busy
Building walls
And stories
And elevator music for the rich
Asking us to pause on the fourth floor
While we all check the shaft from inside
The excess dripping through
so
very
few
hands
They will bind your book
Hold your breath for you
Tighten and sharpen your skates for free if you ensure
That you will help freeze the river
to its falsest bottom and
signal when there is no more
Room for swimming upstream
Signal when you’re ready for a little
reprieve
They will nod your head for you
Hold your spot in line
Smile and sell you
Back to yourself
Beckon you over to the nearest till
Turn your shoulders
Til you are dizzy with delight
Peel back your skin and
Ask you to come outside for a walk.
Tilt the sky
til you can’t tell the sunrise from a fire
They will meet you on your porch,
Loot you at your doorway
Wipe down the ways you
used to let me in
They’ll sell your stories to the News
Listen to you through the wall
Ask you to feed your own poor
Half-breathing you through
Your lines
Before generosity,
Check how much is left in chequing
A pantry for the wealthy
A cupboard for the kids
And anything that’s leftover in isle 8
The truth is low hanging fruit
wrapped in cellophane
Made elusive through meal prep
Don’t let the kids touch their
Teachers
And be certain not to become the air
In case we mouth-to-mouth each other
Back to life
It’s too late to be suspicious
Too early to be done
In the middle of what’s started,
Kill the lights and
Slow dance
Like it’s your resurrection birthday party; alone with one candle and a screen
Drop the beats of your very heart
Let a minute and a tear run through
Down dog your very last lion’s breath
And don’t you dare come with me for a run
We might accidentally bloom,
borrow each other for awhile
Brew up some intuition,
share too many stories
Cross hatch something that resembles lightning
And make a winning team from what’s ordinary
Convince each other to rally for what we already Knew,
dangerously dangle our suspicions over the pool
And collectively inquire within.