Kakikotoba

A rough-hewn canoe slips through the tannin headwaters Past groves of tamarack and birch; jumbles of mossy boulders Also sit along the banks, their angular planes chiseled... Formed perhaps as God pondered the drift of blue stars across A black void. The void drew His eye as the whirlpool draws the soul across the river To dare its jealousy, following the errant maple leaves Spinning down, gently in the current: Sighing as it revolves: The leaf is watching the sky turn Field to sky to birch to sky to rock to dark folds enclosing As the velvet current closes the curtain for good.

Yes, it's 2AM And yes, my head is bad again And of course, I'm thinking in blacks and blues About why I'm here, missing you Why did you have to go away And leave me alone and not okay With all the booze and fear I wonder if I am even here, oh dear I scream in silent gestures; too afraid to move, too afraid to walk Without you, my laughter has gone Without you, my intelligence isn't recognized Without you, my days are dull and worthless So, yes, it is 2AM and I am still awake again And of course I'm thinking of a different night One where I wasn't too weak to fight And I wonder if I'll ever really connect with another being again.

Leave land before The sun has thought To make it's way 'round Their motor whirring lowly Chopping though dark waters Until almost too far from the coastline They stop Suit up, It's still black, But threatening dark blue Dive in Deeper than they should Where it's still dark as pitch And breathe Breathe air in the water As it bites them with the cold Currents carrying them Farther and farther out Until the water becomes turquoise They rise Treasure found

The rotted stairs groaned as I slunk through the house. Clouds of dust swirled in the night air. My eyes could barely make out shapes from the drab interior, but I did not stumble. Slowly I picked my way through the house to the hidden staircase, Carrie trailing behind me. The latch rasped as the tumblers freed the catch and the door jolted open. Squeaking slightly, the trapdoor opened and Carrie and I slipped out onto the roof. Moonlight striped us silver and illuminated the grime of centuries on top of the old house. And then I danced. Forgetting the impending doom tomorrow would bring and how Madame would yell at the grit caked in my sli