Psaltery & Lyre

A Prophecy for the First Horse that Carried Me

Conquest followed by red / and black and pale—beasts / of conflict, judgement, and death. / But what of this equine quartet—

Same shade as fall maples, / a cardinal wing, a valentine.

the sun shone so bright & even, / it read to us our fortunes

concentrate & look / to see / my watercolor / palette held / in space

my ocean like a god never recedes / / but sometimes it withdraws / for a brief breath-holding / leaving the lagoon alack / / the fish gut-sputtering

Mother, I wrote a poem in which I forgave / your sin of omission, your fear of the truth.

Because takeoff so quickly morphed / / into landing, because the sky so quickly became a bridge and then a body / of water

Occasionally I pine for a mild disaster such as a really loud cough of thunder

I have cultivated shadows / that never came to fruit.