Quill, and: Edge, and: Hypothesis

Quill

Feathers, from the god disguised as bird, oncewrapped that god in warmth—once nestled

companionably when he skimmed the lough,shivered when the bold wings were spread,

whistled when he cleared the wood and liftedtoward the moon. Now they're lined up, trimmed,

waiting for words which hide at the bottomof the inkhorn—silence is filled with the mischief

of words. And the patient ink remembers the rockwhere the god disguised as lichen clung, hears

the cry of gulls, sniffs the salt wind. The sheepskinsenses again the damp grass, sun glimmering on sea,

and milk streaming. And the god disguised as childpicks up the quill, dips it in ink, and calls the words

to her, tempts them with cheese and honey, promisespeatsmoke rising, a firm bed, a blanket of rushes.

Edge

Weeds tangle at the edge of a field. Airbristles with tiny whirring things that fall

and rise at their own wild whim. Do theyetch histories on the wind, or climb

into the swallow's beak? Sometimesthey carry messages to whichever god

they choose. More often they findways to change you into mist and you can

feel them passing through you as easilyas a river slipping between its banks

or a cow ambling home in the dusk. Hownot to dissolve, how not to rush

toward nothingness? Light crumbles,leaves you dizzy, hungry for it.

Hypothesis

If bird, if lemon, if you,if straw, night, flood,

o brave new, if Band-Aid,crocus, bees, if peat, cat

whiskers, if Starbucks, ifmercy, if me, if yes, o

know sweet, if almond,if blindfold, if time, bone,

if chain, if gravity, river,laughter, come not single

spies, if blue, if you, ifdelicate, break, break, if

me, and if no if, and if nolonger, if rope, if how,

if under or above, if toastand tea, count the ways,

if wind, let me, if snow,if Kirkuk, if falling, if

sudden, if cave, tent,cliff, now that April, if

headscarf, thunder, ever,if 257 or 362, if now, if

then, if you and me, if notnow, not bird, when?