Sunday, June 11, 2006

Elegy for the Living Patriarchs


she said, he’s angry at you, and he’s building machinery

.
he said, there is no twin

.
She did not say, I have stolen the key to your locked door
.

he said, there is no twin, your dream was only an empty
pond surrounded by dirt
.

she said, I’d like to see what’s beyond that door
.

he did not say, in a nameless country he can do no harm,
all the pictures of him are underwater
.

she said, my twin is taller, one side of his head is flat,
he has ugly hands and he says his name is Michael
.

he said, go to sleep now
.


a cup of pennies from 1955
the sound of a dog trapped in a fence
her half-chewed crayons
a bundle of rusted keys that ring like a bell
buttons from shirts his belly outgrew
a gold locket with the initial “C” scratched off
various muted colors trapped in a jar
the sound of dog trapped

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