page 37

mm-bop!

when She dances there is no
chance i could take her hand

even when i jig-jive-dip-and-
dive with the best of them.

oh yeah, never. She is too good
for whatever you do

however you move, but
She may look your way

if the ears become your feet
and your soul is what rocks-sways-
and-slides in between.

She, yeah her, Rhythm.
if you find her within yourself

she may just turn-her-head-
over-a-shoulder your way.

keep up, young pup.
let us see what you got;

what is within? (or leave with not.)

:::

pear-olive eyes
shows an untainted beauty

that was once painted
with behavioral coo-calling.

one day, as it came,
pear-olive eyes realized

a change of heart
was a change of disguise--

a piece of face-covering-cloth
that mystifies (some);

pear-olive eyes
wrapped and laid in maroon hijab

to become untainted and to revitalize
a nativity Pear-olive eyes felt was

an act of personal saintism;

it was a covering that freed
something within her

although it imprisons others' eyes

:::

to hold.
to cup.
to cover.
to see.
to work.
to mold.
to wave.
to make.
to write.
to pray.
to direct.
to inspect.
to grab.
to tuck in.
to talk.
to play.
to wait.
to feel;
              these words
do not move
              as hands do.
they speak mutely
              with an integrity
that only a
              leaf in the wind knows.

:::

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos

spun and tethered a string to us both.

You tug, and i am pulled.

i pull, and---do you feel the tugging?

i have one too many

abrasions on my knees and elbows.

indeed the worst of all, is not the pain

but my enjoyment at being pulled---

albeit there is a faceless ending.