Today
Today my eyes close in the sun,
Sealed in the bulb, the lava-glow beneath.
‘Avoid the sun’s gaze’ – avoid
The filament, invisible drop.
Squint’s aggravation splits in needles,
Cells overlapping in leafy prisms,
Tracing paper bearing its scars,
Pressed like a fly.
The stare of the sun, steel-sharpened at the fold
Like the dread of cold morning,
Numb like a bucket of water -
Clear as shame.
Breast-Stroke
In the water the brain balms. I am
Trickle fingers streaming. Flubber precision, insistent
Like butter.
At the web the ripple glistens,
Vibrates the disturbance
Like a flinch.
Closed. Sooner than a pause. Secret prayer
Before the wielding of the orb, the arc-elbow.
Final push and tip-ends branch, squeeze out
Through the nails. Aim for
The split glint, the bubble’s eye.
