Words

Woman With Crows There is a woman who catches crows on her tongue.They speak when she is tongue-tied. In the mornings she advises balloons.How high it is safe to go, and when to retire from politics. At night she turns into creek water and sleepsin a quart berry basket. A crow could carry her. When…

Humus Let the spacebetween tree and “tree”be humus. Let the space between usfill with rootsthat are (not) mine. Let form come from this exactplace, be knit to this tree’s branchingas close as bark. Because nothing is another thingor a puppy of our thoughts but only thishappening here between us: let me grow a word for…

November by Cazenovia Creek Clear sky, flying clouds. Elsewherea terrible storm — tornadosin the southeast, hail in the Dakotas;in Buffalo, high winds. But herealong the creek,in thin late-afternoon sun,in Arleen’s woods, only the sound of the river,wind held in the cuppedhands of trees.Molasses sunlight, a tangof darkness. The afternoondistilling. Over the creek,one last dragonfly. Leaf…

My Life in Mathematics My third grade teacher fissioned us into teams.Flashed cards. Shouted. Five seconds to answer:7 times 8! Ruth! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! My team always lost. A brain can be a cloud chamberfull of random events. And shame is easy to memorize. Later, my mother drilled me with flash cardsin a…