1. Yes, You
Awakening, lying alone
On cool sheets,
You were the first thought
In my mind. I say your name
Several times a day
Aloud. It's magical.
Bubbles rise in my blood.
So even now, I speak
Slowly the four syllables.
Can you hear me?
*
There's a conference
In London, in September.
Seminars, readings,
The whole writing thing.
I've got six days.
Three for the conference,
All six for you.
One day, the Tate,
Waterhouse's red-haired
Girls, and Millais'
Ophelia, floating
Downstream amidst flowers
Under a glaze of water.
We could meet.
*
2 a.m. My sleep restless,
Downstairs you appear
And begin leafing slowly
Through my manuscript,
The collage of my life.
Your dark-haired head bent,
Thousands of miles
From home, you question
A word--now, bolder,
Insert a poem of your own.
Meanwhile, the dream
Is changing... you uttering
The 'yes, yes, yes'
That needs no translation.
2. Doe
Out in my bright, side yard,
In my twelve-row garden,
Picking the palm-filling tomatoes
That redly sagged the vines,
Out of the narrow woods
A doe walked, stopping
And starting, all the way up to me.
Turning her head slightly,
She leaned forward
And kissed me lightly on the lips.
When I opened my eyes again,
I was alone. Was it you?
3. You
"People think I'm beautiful,
That I'm a goddess. I don't want
To disappoint you.
I disappoint myself always."
And then the first
Door opened together, you're
Surprised at
The hunger we're sharing
My mouth like a snail
Moving down your body, ear
To curved neck,
To the ball of your shoulder
I am thinking you are
Beautiful, though not a goddess.
I bring the gift
Of no expectations, of we'll see.
4. Her Little Yellow Bird (her speech)
Resting his bright eyes, Tuck
Lost his grip and fell.
Thinking Tuck dead, Mother
Emptied a red clay pot,
Dropped Tuck in,
Then filled it back up.
She left. The soil trembled!
I trembled! Digging
I found Tuck. Squeezing
My eyes tight, I stroked
A place on my right arm
Which acccepted him.
Everywhere I go, Tuck goes.
Today we are both quiet.
Across oceans, I know
A boy, and the boy knows me.
I wonder, is there
A next room to the dream.
