partial as she is to escape
here or there or in outer space
landscapes draw blanks on pages
she rages
when lovers go fretful in
gardens wet full of
evil poetry
tears perfected butterfly wings
slander left her feet in the race
drunk and spare
on the garden settee
partial as she is to escape
here or there or in outer space
she’ll sit on a bench
in a conservatory garden
noting seeds racing for glory
blooming like fuck in an uneasy climate
urban and starlike and owned
by those outside of her
she’s older now and wiser by none
keeps to herself
now that life has gone faster
than her
nothing more has to rhyme
partial as she is to relate
handshakes don’t remember when
she wasn’t in love
when she wasn’t disarming
in a garden so public and hidden as well
she’s thick as the hide on a sacred cow pelt
her limbs are like spiders on speed
she leans into the work counting out loud
the marvelous presence of seed
she’ll sit on a bench
in the conservatory garden
noting seeds racing for glory
bent over records she’s meant to keep
a gleaner of seeds like you and me
from well-armed consultants those fucking bastards
she bends with a dancer’s knee
full throttle ecstasy
leaving pain in the holding position
again
nyc 10.1.24
