She says: touch
Without consent
Equals disturbance.
She says: touch
Without love
Is meaningless.
She says: touch
Without permission,
Is simple assault
She says: touch
With malice
Is always a threat.
She says: touch
Without invitation
Implies control.
A woman’s body
Includes the bubble,
Safe distance between her and the world.
Don’t touch
With intent,
Don’t touch
Without invitation
Don’t touch
Unless touched.
The rules
Are simple enough.
Copyright (c) 2010 by the author
The dark hours--
After night falls/
Before dawn breaks--
The volume of the world
Is turned down,
And I can hear
The crickets outside
My window, and the hum
Of a freeway a mile away.
A dog barks at shadows.
This is as close as a city
Can come
To silence.
SING
Her silent,
Mother with child.
It’s enough
That you worry.
You don’t need
Her tears
To drown you
And your hopes.
You don’t khnow
The judge’s mind.
You don’t speak his language
You speak Spanish,
And he
Speaks Legal
When he’s on the bench,
American Legal.
Sing
Her silent,
Mute your daughter’s
Please, please.
Outside this door
You worry,
Whileinside,
I work--
Work within earshot
Of you,
Of her,
Of laws
I didn’t write,
You didn’t write,
that spin
Worlds on their axes.
Your song,
I don’t know the words,
But their intent,
By your voice,
Are meant
To breathe peace
Over a child’s eyes,
Sand man of another language,
Do your duty.
Sounds of sorrow,
Sounds of fear
Dwindling
Down to
Silence
As another day’s
Work begins,
Rending lives
From their temporary place.
Laws of motion send souls
Spinning off the surface
Where seeds
Had been planted,
Harveste
Had been anticipated.
Sing her silent.
Copyright (c) 2010 by the author
To reach/
To strive/
To try to touch
Calls for bravery,
Calls for desire.
The raindrop on the tongue,
While the rest of the body is washed,
The penny that landsface up--
Meaning good luck for the finder.
The hand that itches to hold
The money.
We reach/
We seek/
We want/
We drink
The rain drop by drop--
Sky purified..
While the body rests,
Repairs are made
After yet another day
Of life’s abuses,
The mind must consolidate
What it has gained,
Versus what it has lost,
And while it balances its books,
It entertains itself with our dreams:
Sometimes it makes sense
Of the actions and responses
We experienced,
But sometimes there are
No reasons for what flits across
The inner screen.
While the movie plays,
Everything we learned
Is set against everything
We forgot.
And when it’s done,
It’s time
For another day
To begin.
All accounts
Are balanced
And ready for
Debits and credits.
(c) 201010 by the author
SOME BIRDS
Some birds still chirp,
Though night has all
But fallen now.
The birds will come again
When dawn breaks,
When the wrapping is
Removed
On a brand new day.
The birds--I wish
I knew the names--
Will be outside my window
Once a gain
When all that remains
Of night is swept aside.
Sing me awake.
Sing me to sleep.
I don’t care.
Whatever their names,
The birds are welcome.
