Tuesday, March 04, 2014

These are my secrets. And these are my other secrets.

I have one thousand scarves.
I want to be a rodeo rider.
I bury my tea leaves.
I am hybridizing a red rose with a redder rose.

Once I fell in love with an assassin,
which would have been all right,
except I hated how his skin smelled of knives.

My volumes of piano etudes, sonatas, nocturnes,
preludes, fugues, variations on a theme, 
scherzos, valses, and concertos,
stacked one upon the other,
would total four feet seven inches high,
although the volumes are dispersed to several locations,
and some are hidden even from myself.

I play the piano every afternoon from four to five,
and afterward drink a cup of mint tea
and eat a single piece of almond shortbread.

I am growing an almond tree. I scent my environs
with almond oil.

I sometimes dream that my children are friendly 
with dangerous animals.

Today I met with a student who smelled of candy and flowers.

Once I picked squash beetles from my plants by hand.
Once, I lived in a village where the migrating butterflies
covered the shrubberies, the walks, the pavement.

In my heart of hearts, I am judging you, 
but only as practice for when I become a judge.

In my heart of hearts, I judge myself, 
but only as practice for when,
in my heart of hearts, I judge myself.

Primary are the colors of all the walls 
of my proto-crypto dream house.







7 comments:

  1. Tell me why the hair on the back of my head rises at the two judging stanzas especially. They make me shiver with delight.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, go ahead and knock my socks off, why don't you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I knew it! I just knew you were freakily into almonds! Out of the closet at last.
    This? "Once I fell in love with an assassin,
    which would have been all right,
    except I hated how his skin smelled of knives." Good lord. THAT'S how it's done, folks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your secrets are safe with me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ALRIGHT. Send me your dang manuscripts.

    {Prettyplease?}

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ohhh. So delighted you're back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This was the best. Publish this someone and soon!

    ReplyDelete

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