A speckled sea of sky,
a trout cast high
wriggles against the
grip of winter’s suffocating
clawed fist.

A moving sky swarms
in a mighty thrust of
swirl and dip and
shrieky black caw that
envelopes even the
slimmest thought of light.

Their butter glow eyes of
deep night prophesy
dot dark oiled frocks;
red rimmed and gutter
gloomy, they engage
in a bee swarm of
mad cackle chorus.

The sky stays still a
moment, the blanket
of cold a false respite.

En masse they dive as a
wind whipped waterfall to
rest on barren brushed
brick, steel, concrete
and trodden under earth.

A snap, and the
sooty cape unfurls
in ripple water rings to
rise and circle,
Hell’s minions loosed
upon unsuspecting sky
to turn tail to the
doom of ice, pushing
hard to meet the wet heat
of the southern wind,
selfishly leaving all else to
the waste of the elements
and the caked, cold
dripping nose of winter.

A lie,
a worm in an apple.

You, the worm
squiggling about
in frantic search of
an exit.

Me, the apple
rounding out,
hardening my mash
to trap you in
your wiggling ways.

Pulp and juice slam
together madly
in a conductor-less
concerted effort
to hold together, to
shore up your devious
worm tunnels.

My apple blossom
fails with a withering
cry.

For a worm must dig,
and an apple be eaten,
and the core –
the backbone
around which all is
built and torn –
must be discarded
and forgotten
for the process to begin
anew.

I must blossom into
sweetness again
and rid myself of
your wormage.

To see the heaven
of trillion days
and endless sun play
within the depths of
sky dipped eyes…
to feel the reach
of all that is human,
that is artificial,
drip away from
new-found silver
stemming frond like
from the limbs;
to sleep with
the well worked knowledge
of cohabitve age ghosts
wrapped about
the big toe in
simple, twisted bow.

For the days
to fleet foot by
with eyed vigilance
and yet to stop
feather light whir
with the snap of
your sparkled finger –
to forget all that is right
and remember all
that was gold touched
with the expense of
earth born and carried
precious jewel lips –

that is my lyric.