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SO LONG

One morning he made
the ten thousand things-to-do
dance down the street
and disappear. So long,
he shouted, and then
there was silence
and nothing to do.
The clock kept ticking
and his hands rested
on the brown table top.

THE END OF AUTUMN

He heard the songs of the clouds

and of the wise leaves letting go.

There were whispers in the grass

of shiftings and transformations,

and snow was saying poems in the distance. 

There were white thoughts inside him.

EVERLASTNG

It’s everlasting, he said.

The bedspreads, the fans,

the flowing winds, the skies

that stand across us like sentinels.

It’s all everlasting, he said,

even the thoughts tossed toward us

like Frisbees

from who knows where,

even the words we say

that sparkle in the sky

for centuries to come.

He said all this

as dawn

decided to speak in the east.

SURELY

Someone said “surely”,

and it started him thinking.

Surely the sun is shining somewhere,

and surely some streets

are carrying cars

where they wish to go.

Surely someone is taking a step

that needs to be taken,

and surely a clock is clicking

with precision

even while storms surely

start their proceedings

in the distance.

Surely girls in Westerly

will sing today,

because surely there's music

at the center of sorrow,

and surely these words

will shine,

wither, and wilt

like fall’s leaves.