Threat levels us:

targets of surveillance, casualties of public sector cuts, persons of interest to advertisers and politicians.

where that heron used to stand

a painting of a heron

Immersed in a language you don’t understand,

you become even more attuned to the music of speech and the dark magic of writing.

Remember to always practice safe death.

Unlettered in death,

we are immune to even the most appalling cliches.

ancient street tree

all its alternative routes
marked X

It was only when I switched to unlined paper

that the poems began to come without being called.

Of all doomed friendships,

none is more tragic than that between a compulsive blurter and an obsessive brooder.

clouds in our airspace

and all this immigrant snow
clinging to our land

spelling out fences

the immaculate ignorance
of snow

gone back to woods

all that’s left is location
location location

The sky of my childhood

was full of places to climb and sit.