Poetry

Some Signs Come Like Thunder

some signs come like thunder, declaring itself over the skies
lighting up the storm clouds in displays of electric significance
and other signs come like a noontime eclipse, bringing momentary darkness
striking fear into the primal heart and simply impossible to ignore
but the…

risktaking

two a.m. and i awake to the world’s loneliness
with taxicabs traveling on their endless circuit around the city
wailing a cry of solitude with the shwa-shwa of their tires
punctuated by sirens and garbage trucks
this city howls its own brand of pain
and i will commiserate with it while
contentment and peace…

34th street, underground

i turned, out of impulse, unable to stop the pivot
and caught your eyes through the flashing window
of a subway train speeding past and then
as if out of a mirage, i thought i saw you
smile, lift a hand and wave goodbye
the world is capable of dissolving quickly

Long Island, Fall 1998

six a.m. and the sky lightens imperceptibly
starting with a wind that comes in off of the waters
seagulls lost in the semi-darkness wander overhead cooing
their forlorn and vulgar song while
beneath them and the stars that fade, i stand in a church parking lot
looking at everything and…

Loss

I

on the rooftops of this city in which you are not
night descends on lamplit wings, enfolding me
in a comfortable silence broken
only by the wind rattling the rickety windowpanes — 
a conversation of ghosts and whispers…
far below the embrace of dark promises
i sit slowly waking from…