pulitzer
he states
an award winning building
window to a world view
nice green,
the hills,
an extra bedroom
it is gudi padwa
the festival of beginnings
'with a down payment
the pied-à-terre is yours'
we have sold
lung, kidney, heart
ushering our selves
into these empty rooms.
(c) Rochelle Potkar
like a candle
that curdles
around its own feet
Every evening
crackling, burning, diminishing
Only to spring up the
next day
Whole and
ready to dance a flame on its shoulders.
Sometimes worry
falls like a
pebble into water
and friendship
becomes a finder
and goes
after it.
The church was
p
o
t
a
and sloping alongside
were faint sun h
i
l
l
s.
people singing hymns
in violet, purple, lilac,
indigo, lavender, pink
disguised
in rouge,
eye-lashes,
perfumes, curls
witnessing nuptials
of a beautiful, nervous couple
on a malt evening
raining rainbows.
Between his work tools
he spares a thought,
it is enough
for eye and eye to meet
word and word
to stand side by side
It is the rhythm
of question and answer
but the real thing
is him simmering
down your breath
as you take him home
on a long memory
and google up his name
helpless,
sick, almost obsessed
in the cold winter morning
you know where he lives
his age
even his email address
what next?
close your eyes and
visualize
every breath has met
every thought
every gut
you know this is love
and you can do nothing
about it.
Defeatist.
wait for it
like a mosquito
to insert its proboscis
slowly at first
then quick, rapid
fast
the world is spinning out of control
his mind is spinning with food thoughts
this drink
would be enough
for the whole night
or perhaps not
if his stomach is libidinous
you wait
with a flat hand
and rush
squash
blood smeared with black insect body
there you have your muse covered
in first draft
Yeah-I-want-to-communicate-so-much-and-you-can’t-understand-a-thing-and-I-know-wisdom-is-not-the-only-thing.
Not-the-only-thing-because-when-I-smile-you-smile-a-bit-or-two-after-me-and-you-chew-on-your-nails-to-show-you-need-milk-and-I-want-to-tell-you-that-now-is-the-time,-your-mother-is-ticking-with-energy-and-wisdom-and-she-can-tell-you-so-much-about-the-world-and-what-is-new
and-you-dream-into-my-face-as-if-you-always-knew
and-by-the-time-you-would-get-talking-I-would-forget-my-syllables
and-by-the-time-you-rein-on-those-alphabets-I-would-forget-the-snippets-of-my-epiphany
and-when-you-grow-young, I-would-have-no teeth-to-tell-the-wisdom-through
and-even-if-I-write-it-down-it-would-vanish-one-day
and-you-would-have-so-much-more-by-the-time-you-reach-where-I-am-now-you-would-know-more-than-I-could-tell-anyways,
and so I sit down lotus-styled and continue feeding you your milk.
