Junkyard

A lovecharm hidden in his grandmother’s linen...

The woman looks up from her book.

The man takes a sip of his drink.

Then there is nothing but the sound of their looking,

the lapping of lake water, and a call of one bird

then another, cries of joy or warning—

it passes the time to wonder which.

& diamonds roped like a noose around throats of harbors beneath

… shot through a hole, and everything we know

goes in there, where it feeds a blaze.

… The serpent didn’t hiss

     to Adam and Eve, “Hide your nakedness!”

     He wore his best suit, and whispered, “Look at this!”