later

this is all you remembered
afterwards
all you remembered was the sunlight
and how it marked a square
across the carpet
an odd fixation

scarcity

words are scarce

but i will keep looking
and i will find so many
eventually
i'm sure

halting

standing with toes on the edge
it's not the falling that matters
the weightlessness
or the stomach pressing up into your throat
that makes the difference really

it's the part at the end you can't count on
you can never really plan for
the part at the end that can't be stopped
except by its very nature

it halts everything

for ts eliot

thank you, ts eliot
for your grown-up sounding words
for hollow men and mornings
at the window and love songs
of poets mediocre
compared to you