The Kingfisher

A tighter circle

There could be a new moon tonight
If only we pulled in the same direction,
Which magic remains out of reach
And yet in the set of your jaw
I sense the heart of a conjurer
One without rabbit or hat
And a little lost and yet
Still convinced that the right words might
Unravel the world
And build it anew.

I look upward and behold the firmament,
Arms raised like a modern-day Moses,
But my words fall flat,
They etch no stones,
No eternal law unfurls,
More dead celebrities accrue.

If only it were that easy to rewrite the laws of the land
To appeal to a higher power and
To have that power answer,
Perhaps in the taciturn words of our father,
If only he weren’t so tired and drunk,
Befuddled now by every task.

And there, in the riddle of my blood, lies the answer.
There, among complex strands of acid is the secret violence
That will undo the heart of me.
You ask for forgiveness.

I lied that I had it in me to try.