Nipomo Ranch Walk
A bee struggles in a spider's web
and a lizard, who lost his tail, darts by.
Both steer me to the earth,
midwife to life, and its cemetery.
The sun glares, sears hot,
waits to be worshipped
as the true source of all:
the sun likes being god.
Electricity hums overhead,
wires corral the sun,
harness its power:
humans like being god.
A city girl, I forget
battles borne in the wild,
and how landscape and sun
make our passage possible.
In my tame life,
I struggle in daily webs,
face losses, and know
time is ticking.
Life, death, earth and sun,
their mysteries safe from me,
for I'm hungry, I'm hot, and
it's time, time for lunch.
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At Age Nine
I wonder
if the world is there
when I close my eyes.
Narcissus in full bloom,
I want everything
to be about me.
I shut my eyes, and try
to make Anastasia disappear:
Anastasia who sucks on my Popsicle,
who puts an arm lock on my neck,
who pulls me around,
who calls me fruit.
Leaving Ground Zero Via Subway
One man reads a Chinese book,
another looks at his iPhone, and a boy
with headphones taps his feet,
but the sleeping black man
in an orange-striped vest,
hard hat and gloves on his lap,
commands my attention.
His eyes closed, face soft,
he's gone home to himself,
granting me this intimacy:
his tenderness unveiled.
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