The Wisdom Of Insects
a breeze
brought it to my door
finger-hooks clinging to brick
alien eyes following every move
what must I look like to a mantis?
a big pink blur? a tree with no leaves?
it clambers up the branch of my arm
all elbows and needles, scissors and knees
a delicate monster, an intricate machine
I want to ask
which star system are you from?
which mad scientist wished you into being?
but the mantis ignores me
meditates upon deeper questions
dances to a beat I cannot hear
and I get the impression that even if it could
the creature would not speak to me
that I am not prepared for the wisdom of insects
with a sudden leap from the cliff of my chin
the mantis becomes a forest sprite, a little green imp
climbs into a sky of vines
transforms itself into leaf and twig
Maps Of Leaf And Stone
I found a leaf
on the forest floor
marked by a strange calligraphy
dots, curls, hooks, arrows
was it the poetry of an ant
or a love letter from flower to bee?
I found sheets of bark
strewn about a clearing
each one another page
in a tree's autobiography
the forest was a library of such stories
I found maps of leaf and stone
archipelagoes of moss, lichen islands
soft escarpments of yellow fungi
I could only guess at the landscape of such countries
and where they might be found
and on the underside of a granite slab
I found the map of a green continent
my finger traced a coastline of green
I imagined its wide green beaches
green waves upon a green shore
one day
I would go there
The Yellow Balloon
I saw the yellow balloon
crossing the highway
bobbing over/under speeding cars
the balloon was fearless
I saw the yellow balloon
sailing down the river
chasing fish/scaring ducks
I'm sure I saw it smile
I saw the yellow balloon
stranded at the top of a tree
a crowd gathering beneath
there was a crying child
and a man with a ladder
but the balloon broke free
soared away above our heads
I'm sure I heard it squeal
I saw the yellow balloon
browsing in the supermarket
it chose a girl in a yellow dress
later, I saw them outside
the yellow balloon dragging
the little girl by the hand
lifting her, ever so slightly, into the air
both of them laughing
Notes From The Zoo
the woman in the cafeteria
buys cigarettes, a pop dog
and a toy koala at half-price
the youth in baggy shorts
makes beaver jokes
his friend flicks twigs at the hippo
the father imitates a lion's roar
eager to impress his daughter
but the child in the stroller is asleep
bored with empty cages
the man with a video camera
films a small boy running in circles
the girl in a boob-tube
gossips on her mobile
the macaw looks on with interest
two children fight over a bag of nuts
their monkey-like screams echo
across the African Savanna
at the marmoset enclosure
a man says to his son
look at that stupid face
from where I am standing
I can only see the man's reflection
- teeth bared, brow furrowed
