Flash Thud

the indecisiveness of the storm

is disconcerting to the belief of a master plan

the weathers got me wanting love more tangible

-Connor Orberst

The smallest of the small

A man said to the universe:

"Sir, I exist!"

"However," replied the universe,

"The fact has not created in me

"A sense of obligation."

-Stephen Crane

a bellyful of beauty

chopping onions

in the rain

I am constantly born

Not Supposed To

Stars

are the campfires

of exiles.

Language exists

to pull things

close.

-Rae Armantrout

…After all

It doesn’t matter where it hits

Just the sound of a splash

And knowledge

Of billowing ripples

In the night

Sunset Through the Blinds

and there we stayed without moving
listening to the river
and I wondered whether
it might be a dream
whether you might be a dream
whether we both were a dream
in which neither of us moved

-W.S. Merwin

Today, much like every other day, will not hold.

(the jerking of muscles and greedy eyes.

movement undefined)

breath and a fear of death

little more than posturing

In Pedro Arrupe’s book on Japan I find useful comments on shooting with a bow. A Japanese man instructs a missionary:

Holy Father, you must not think about the target, the target has no meaning here. And you must not worry about hitting it. Above all you must strive to become one with the target, and only then do you calmly release the arrow. The arrow will fly straight to the target. But if you tighten your nerves instead of the string, you may be sure that it will never reach the goal.

This advice comes in handy in many situations. Since the goal is reached only in passing.

-ANNA KAMIENSKA

Long Time Running

There is no fierceness in sleep

No sign of passion

Just evidence of its bustling pass

Just two bodies interlocked

And away

The horizon’s flashing fastens tight,

sealing the blue hills with vermilion.

Moss dyes a squirrel’s skull green.

The cemetery expands its borders—

little milky crosses grow like teeth.

How kind time is, altering space

so nothing stays wrong; and light,

more new light, always arrives

-SPENCER REECE9