Abrupt » sun

Outdoor Shower

abrupt — Mon, 24 Jul 2000 22:53:00 +0000

          soap
      softens in
      the corner
rust and wood
      water falls                                    two
     cellar door                            maybe three
                                             times while I’m living
                                            won’t be many more
                                                 of that I’m sadly
   give me sun                      sure
where the skin falls
Sunday morning
      out beneath
     cloudless blue                              Larabelle,
          open air                              bathe my body
                                                    in your summer
                                                    wash my memory
                                                   like pollen from
                                                            your hair

World Trade Center at Lunchtime on a Weekday

abrupt — Thu, 13 May 1999 23:25:16 +0000

a breeze cools me
sun-blind before
a sparkling fountain
luster of heavy power
this plaza, impact crater
of money
white shirts, student backpacks
the rustle of sandwich papers
and the fountain.
dirty pigeons scavenge,
feathers musty in the sun.
a bronze ball of involving might
rivets this place
to the earth

Fire Island, July 1997

abrupt — Sun, 06 Jul 1997 22:36:53 +0000

I left myself on the beach,
with towels and shoes, a book, lemonade
it is all behind me, back on the beach
here I am only light,
or sand, lightly salted,
and water
I am waving, and each wave
only kind of repeats

this strange salt pungence in my nostrils
too long dulled by cab coughs
and uncurbed dogs
reminds me of my breathing
and it is waving
with a cresting anticipation
of intake
and a booming exhalation

some waves find relief
on the land
and it strikes me
that the place of waves
is a place of shifting
promises between
the kingdoms of land and sea
and like me
traces the shiver
of extremes for awhile

but, lemonade,
the scent of coconut on a magazine