34

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING

All the different colors
Get angry and want to break things,
They are wearing tooled holsters
And hammered copper helmets.
The primary colors pack dueling pistols,
Cineastes with a thing
For panavision, and this is 66th Street,
Lincoln Center. Not my stop and
Not yours either. A woman down the car
Puts silver snakes in her ears
And plugs a cord into a cigarette lighter.

Once you start worrying
Whether what you say makes sense
You're done for, said the penguin.
A good heart,
Practices vedantic astrology,
Goes out long and comes back
With a dignity you don't expect
Because she's short,
Has a thing for men's clothes.

Now we're talking,
Said the English language.
James climbs the dresser and puts
His hand in the creamer tipping it
Spilling pumpkin seeds across
The laundry, his laundry,
In the corner by my closet.
At eighteen months he's two.
Harbor! Train! Turtle! he says.
Harbor! Harbor! Harbor! driving through trees.
Moon, in the elevator. Moon apple banana
On phone. Bye bye when I come home.