Standing on a hill, an arm’s length from the moon,
a small teary boy with a one-eyed bear in hand,
holds a balloon tethered to him by the thinnest string
while his face is pressed against the glass of stars.
A train coos a lullaby in the distance while
questions of truth and diligence babysit him.
Why is there hate? When is there pain?
What is a love? Where is hope?
How is alone?
In an empty room where teaching grew,
the desks face forward,
the lead desk abandoned.
Notes on conspiracies folded in corners of books of
Van Gogh. Starry Nights became dark when the stars fell from
canvas leaving melancholy swirls.
And I at 17
wander to places
too empty to share with company,
too lonely for invitation,
wondering if he or she this young
has such desolate places,
impoverished nightscapes
where cold winds of youth
rattle deserted cans of doubt,
the grime of lust and betrayal smeared on every building,
the scratches of rats’ feet across broken glass,
cat’s fighting in the
dark.
Cloudy, cloudy nights block
all light so that the neon sight of the gaudy motel
sign is the only guide for me.
There is a cloud which demands following,
a fire burning in the night
across forty year fields,
through emptiness where no IPhone rings or Starbucks grows,
over sandy thirsty hills where the ignorant rule and the
foolish gain power.
Lakes of tears and winds of cries
are stilled.
And there is meaning when there are no answers.
Standing on a hill, a ways from the moon,
a small teary boy, a one-eyed bear in hand,
holds a balloon tethered to him by the thinnest string.
Fingers loosen in release
to allow the prized to
join the stars.
