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there are books of which i have never read
yet, the plot of which i understand:

Boot-Camp-For-The-Soul
Love-Literature-For-The-Lover.
Love-Ache in Here, There, and Nowhere.
Cat N' Mouse.
David and Goliath.
Ego Games, Tricks, and Trades.
A-Tip-Of-Frank-Sinatra's-Hat.
Billie Holiday for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Mirror-Mirror-on-the-Wall.

my heart is the only blade of grass
that moves in the wind of every page turned.

:::

there is no such thing as the sky and the lake.

there is only one ocean;

a mirror of land separates them. Reflecting.

birds are fish, too. they swim, too.

fish and bird, i see no difference.

both know of descending to ascend.

whether it be through air or through freshwater.

wings lifting, gills sifting.

i wait in the raft to watch it occur;

bird and fish talk of union.
i feel my intrusion on them.

bird to fish: "My talons were once sharpened to latch onto you."

fish to bird: "My body was once rounded to be caught by you."

suddenly, a splash! a broken mirror!

is the caught catched? and did the catcher get caught?

whitewater blocks my view.

:::

montana, you know how to steal my voice.

this feels like a holy place. sage hillside surrounding.

i watch a small creek making night music

and the trees listen too.

stars have also heard word of the creek's concert so they gather,

while the moon illuminates the melodies.

     You may have vacationed--left my chest for awhile, only,

     everything around me says, "No."

     the mountains: "You can't climb My peaks."

     the meadows: "How can you resist our soft hands?"

     the lodgepoll pine: "You cannot find a way out through our density."

     i cannot escape. You. Your love. is in all of them.

:::

why give a fool love without the beloved?

answer:
To make the fool wise.

question to the answer:
but what comes out of wisdom if i keep asking questions?

answer:
More and more silence.

answer to the answer:
i stop asking questions.

answer to the answer:
You are starting to get it. You are still talking though.

but...

answer to the answer:
You are still the fool.