[Poem] Reincarnation

2009-10-05 @ 4:15 p.m.

upon exiting the library
i see you there:
already dead,
on a bed of cement.

moved by pity
i stand
and i stare.

compulsively i reach down
and gather you into a nest of
purple fabric, vibrantly,
violently violet
against gray and yellow

my fingertips search:
can i cradle you until you move?
but the only pulse
is my own.

a hollow of sadness
carves its own place into my stomach.

without thinking i move,
walking,
watching you do nothing
but lie dead
as i head uncomprehending toward the pond.

(mirror of the sky)
i stand like a mourner on the edge
of the pond like a six-foot hole
opening its mouth
to consume the bones of someone i love.

the moments glide by on falling leaves.

i lay your frail body on a lush boat of green.
downy feathers, pale,
storm and sunshine and
a white belly like the clouds,
with a brave red slash above your eyes
that puts me in mind
of the mouths of kings' mistresses
or the badges on the chests of soldiers.

here, little birdie;
taste the sky again, reflected here
on the glassy still plane of the pond.

here is a new heaven,
a new world.

goldfish,
orange jots of color moving in a mystery
beneath the surface
crowd around you:
a halo.

i think you are a saint.