ex nihilo
a poem
Paphos leaves like petals like small bowls dew and rain clear filmed by sun filament echos calyx. A tempest edges edits a tableau desert mountain the island of a footnote evaporates and from which springs clouds goldspun showering thru, sunrise sky deep studded by birds golden sunrise the shade covered pleiades lyra set under leaves intimate to the lute of her body frame’s slight stem gyres grove light sheltered, white fruits light, orange under trellis in gradations nearer concatenates. Two wander azure, hoarded words an overflow, their manuscript and glitters snow ‘this tree flowers white birds’ shade unelaced patterns outward rains and gentle stream splits. Two hermits improvise upon temptation petal separates song from body a calendar to body, flush light fruiting like hyacinth, played refrain in heart and nipple gold remains the value that stream gentle, lip circulates. Set upon upon ripples set how blind bard at the feet of the gray oarsmen begged like a coin flung utter silence. For memory as once two poets, shore swan, her waves and snow leaf unto trellis upwards flows? separates from its light? no, overlaps. Snow-wave that dreams attenuate sheaves of hair tied under glass that it is heaven. A bee by field guides to one’s own sleep a mouse by stream a fiction lies the tall river-grass ebbs like meaning: waves and snow. Snow’s branch held ascesis clouds bathe cliffs an exchange immutable. Tongue a knot ties, whispers shell hums grasshopper’s sex dawn stirs the angles two faces meet pixilation maps from within it clefts and river from within its fluted softness nearsighted wing-shell pale and faint overlapping wing-shell mecha of her wasp a stem against mirror-earth looking downward.