44

O FIRELIGHT, INTAGLIO

O firelight, intaglio
Time in museums credited to the account of
Ur-text decisions
Little light switch
Lap closeness
That I liken to Pharaoh Ka-Pow’s
Reuptake inhibitor permission slip.

Darling balcony, darling basal thermometer
You mimeograph me in public
And release me over the hamlet
More for effect than to enunciate
Such she-children seeing shadows on sills
Matriculating ten years later
All the hazards of noticing how little it takes;
A match, a pill, a breath, a pen.
Thank God that’s not you. Thank
Goodness you make and eat a salad,
A salmon,
A salutary premium romper room
To sing yourself to sleep in.
Sleep me in too, and soon,
Character and charm are pinging the account of
Lap closeness
And releasing.