contemplation 4

I am famous in these distractible parts
for half-sentences and thoughts un-done.
Listen: It is only a skipping ahead

past the boredom of a thing
once seen. The bloom is off, color fading
by the time it reaches your lips

Inspired by Hafiz, “Every City Is a Dulcimer,” translated by Daniel Ladinsky.
“If I ever don’t complete a sentence…”

tree lessons

how we remember
to keep our head
in this storm, not thrown
this way or that, smash-
happy to believe
any worst thing
all that screeching
through leaves
—let’s talk
like the trees
subterranean, feel slow
mud pulse before earth
unfurls, surface-catching
breath to turn green
or sparking red, gold
—let’s put it aside
let the wind glide
right over grateful eyes
and fingers, not even this
moment or year
or eternity