Density

Density

She knew she was the sole cause
And brevity ached in her like low
Chords strummed in empty
Churches
Night
Oversees gardens and fields of flowers
Laid in unsteady rows before her
If one was precious
Can more hold meaning in the droplets
That hang on the tips of leaves
If one was willing to taste her lips
Can more Wisteria grow purple and bold around
Shadow-encased corners
If one loved her
Could it be that others
Will view her value and cradle it
Near as a guardian

Late afternoons she has
Hair woven by insects
And is
Tucked neatly in a grave

I tilted my head to hear
The word of Jesus, the whisper balanced
On the tongue of Buddha
Cupping a hand to the side of my head
I even swept away my hair so not to
Obscure any sound
I waited for the message, I held
My breath for the meaning delivered
In Shiva’s tender hands but it came…

…on the breeze
Instead and
Life wasn’t less important
When the why was bleached out and hung
Under the sun to evaporate
Meanings aren’t fertilizer
It rains and it dries, festers and heals over
This repeats
It’s still swollen with the most acute sense of
Love, there is reason
To inhale, exhale, look ahead