at night
the wolves wait
on my temples
for the elk to venture
from my sparse hairline
onto my forehead
instantly, the pack pursues the herd
some escape into the thicket of my eyebrows
as the rest charge across
the curve of my cheek
longing for the forest of my beard
I sleep through the slaughter
on my jaw
soothed by the steady snores
of slumbering bears
in the caves of my ears mjh
10/12/2004
(Thanks to Merri for ‘slumbering.’)
Listen to Slumber
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
From afar
I am drawn
to this mountain.
I step on his feet,
climb his knee,
over his hip,
and run along his long spine,
up between great shoulders.
Ahead I face the summit.
From his crown
I look down
and around
and around.
Here near his ear
I listen to silence
and breathe the cold light
as a flea on a giant. mjh
1/4/2005
Listen to flea
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
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