“she brought me coffee in the rain   and later   in pink pajamas and slip on slippers   she entered heaven   where i was   painting the doors white   keep…

“the priestly trees are silent   no hail mary’s or token absolutions   they sway like a thousand rabbis at the wall   but nothing wails   except the wind   the prayers…

“poverty lines these roads linton scappoose rainier st helens where the burned out burger barns edge out the sky where sunburnt r-vees deliquesce over dirt roads where the weight of empty pockets is…

“losing all my leaves   soon   i will resemble a dead weed   it appears that spring is here   and yet   and yet   and yet the seeds    earth…