ALARM

you have escaped 

sound the alarm 

pass through the door

touch my arm

so I know beyond death

there is still a kind roar

nod from the afterlife

across celestial moors

wink from abroad

drag a chair over the floor

let me know that the gang

who have since crossed-over

reads books, drinks wine

contemplates lovers

touch my arm

catch my eye with

a fleet moving shadow

make me nervous at midnight

shriek a silent falsetto

argue mortality

make me sound dumb

give me the room

on my swollen tongue

to find words that match

your gracious passing

to stop and reflect

that death does the asking

we decide on ruckus

or simply respond

like a slow-moving duck

over a still life pond

sound the alarm

get me ready

for whatever it takes

while I’m here

while I’m living

the heart will break

into pieces that grow

like new limbs on a starfish 

and just when I’ve been

bereft of courtship

opaque after bloodletting 

drawn from my heart

the chair scrapes

and sits on a heavenly floor

I have a seat

when I’m done with my purpose

a slow-moving passport

with the ones who are there.

 

2.23.12

nyc