It’s not small, it’s cozy
That space between
Love and trust
Like apple skin between the teeth
What once seemed tragic is now filling the gap
Branches scraping against the window
Never had to cut them before
There are cars in the driveway
Holes in the street
Neighbors to ignore
This is your second family
The ones that pick you up
Halfway between mud and sludge
Halfway between hammer and sledge
Halfway between the city mouse and the country rat
This is the blind balancing beam of some ninja gymnast at age fourteen
Halfway between sex kitten and full blown bitch
Halfway between revving up and winding down
Halfway between the backseat and the family van
In these spaces
The wheels of progress
That stop for no one
Show their true colors
But more important
They show their age
Cracks and fissures
Bleed with iron
Iron and lead
Nickel and rust
And where there once was a bubbling seam
All full of promise
All tight and right
There are now the hidden moments
Those perfectly round holes
Those miniscule scratches
That show the world
This too shall pass you by
Somewhere out where the above ground pools pay homage to the ferris wheel
Somewhere where protected woodlands mean you can shoot anything that moves
There is a thing called product
Waiting for its momma
Waiting for the daisies to spring with rancid oils
Joining us all in the heat of the sun
For one last party
One last spring fling
One last wind up toy
Working its way to the edge of the table
All feet and hooks
Grommets and patina
Sugar and molasses
And where the lemons meet their maker
A small girl with a sign and a Tupperware jug
Is showing a hole where a tooth once was
And someone on the block is putting up a split-level
And someone else is planting grass seeds
In bored out holes
Where the dirt once was
And in our hearts we bow to progress
Step aside for the paramedics
And allow the machines to pass
As we tap on our siding
And sweep the front step
Saying, “all great things must one day falter and
It’s not small, it’s cozy”
--
4.5.06
That space between
Love and trust
Like apple skin between the teeth
What once seemed tragic is now filling the gap
Branches scraping against the window
Never had to cut them before
There are cars in the driveway
Holes in the street
Neighbors to ignore
This is your second family
The ones that pick you up
Halfway between mud and sludge
Halfway between hammer and sledge
Halfway between the city mouse and the country rat
This is the blind balancing beam of some ninja gymnast at age fourteen
Halfway between sex kitten and full blown bitch
Halfway between revving up and winding down
Halfway between the backseat and the family van
In these spaces
The wheels of progress
That stop for no one
Show their true colors
But more important
They show their age
Cracks and fissures
Bleed with iron
Iron and lead
Nickel and rust
And where there once was a bubbling seam
All full of promise
All tight and right
There are now the hidden moments
Those perfectly round holes
Those miniscule scratches
That show the world
This too shall pass you by
Somewhere out where the above ground pools pay homage to the ferris wheel
Somewhere where protected woodlands mean you can shoot anything that moves
There is a thing called product
Waiting for its momma
Waiting for the daisies to spring with rancid oils
Joining us all in the heat of the sun
For one last party
One last spring fling
One last wind up toy
Working its way to the edge of the table
All feet and hooks
Grommets and patina
Sugar and molasses
And where the lemons meet their maker
A small girl with a sign and a Tupperware jug
Is showing a hole where a tooth once was
And someone on the block is putting up a split-level
And someone else is planting grass seeds
In bored out holes
Where the dirt once was
And in our hearts we bow to progress
Step aside for the paramedics
And allow the machines to pass
As we tap on our siding
And sweep the front step
Saying, “all great things must one day falter and
It’s not small, it’s cozy”
--
4.5.06
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