the kindlings

Alright, so it's free verse. What the hell? I'm just glad to have access to this darn sketchpad again.


Cameo

"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
-A Man Said to the Universe, Stephen Crane


When twilight touches the lips of horizon
To kiss the day goodnight,
I see the universe has let me in
On a little secret -
Mine is only a cameo appearance
In the staged play of the cosmos.
I am lying to myself
When, sleepless at 2:00 A.M.,
I rise from bed to Tchaikovsky's Fifth
To run my pen across a page
Like Olivier walking Hamlet on stage
Hoping to render of this world of ugly masks
One thing beautiful.
Inevitably a heavy train rumbles through town
Blowing black industrial comedy into the blasted night,
Striking me mute and impotent
At the climactic moment
Of my love scene with Ophelia.

The meaning of the secret is this:
When given the choice to write or sleep
It is much more sensible to sleep.

Digby