WOOL & DOWN

Remembering is the lining of forgetting.

        —Chris Marker from San Soleil

1.

Forgetting is a coat

I wear in winter.

It keeps the chill out.

It is my comfort during dark days.

But remembering is the wool

that makes the coat a coat,

makes it more than just a flimsy drape.

2.

Forgetting is a cushion

I lay my head on

that eases the mind

and pillows me to sleep, to dream.

But remembering is the down

that makes the cushion a cushion,

makes it more than just an empty case.

THE TOLL-TAKER

You must pass through

This place

To get to

The other side,

To cross over.

You can’t go freely, though.

There is a price to pay.

And someone there

Waiting to collect.

Will you pay them

Just what is owed?

Or more…?

Kindness could be

Your random gratuity.

How you treat the toll-taker

Is how you treat yourself.

OFF LEASH

Release them

and then watch 

them run wild, head

in a frenzy for the hills...

Eventually, 

after they've had 

a good romp,

they‘ll come home,

bored, tired 

and hungry,

bloody and bleeding,

foxtails in their paws,

tails between their legs,

whimpering for affection—

and you’ll have it 

to give.

Who are these beasts

you know so well?

THE RIVER

There is a river

Inside

The river

A searching

A remembering

A knowing

A current

That moves

Invisibly

This is your life

Your true life

The one

You are meant
To live
Trying 

To find you

Amidst the eddies

And the rapids