Beach Totem

On borrowed time, it stands

for all you have left

behind, something nameless

in the name of the washed-up,

the lapsed and forgotten,

remnants joined to give loss,

no matter how tough

or random, another shot

at consequence, roughed out

of driftwood and plastic,

fabric and metal, detailed

with seaweed and egg sac,

feather and shell,

excess rescued from

the depths where passion

has always been raw

material for what doesn’t last

but builds as if it will.

Analemma

A figure-8 formed by recording the sun’s position from the same place at the same time of day at regular intervals for a year.

As if its radiant sound

could make meaning slowly

dawn on me,

I drew the word out

loud through your still life room,

just for the rhythm

at first, but then for that

tone the unknown

sets when knowledge is yet

to come, in this case 9 down

on the crossword

puzzle left beside your bed,

merging a mother’s horizon

with the journey of the sun.