soon, clouds.....


1.

soon, clouds will cover the sky
like an infection, grow dark and burst,
drops of clear blood will crystallize,
swirl, float like stuffing from a pillow
to settle in my yard, diamond dust.


2.

a rabbit fast as a blink
scatters stillness across my yard,
unzips the earth's decaying hide;
leaves which dodged november rakes,
grass frozen in an emerald lattice,
and deeper, mud hard as sidewalks,
suffocates the worms.


3.

soon, this glittering white skin,
allergic to the sun, will break out in a rash,
a quilt of sepia and white.
trees stand like majestic antlers,
squirrels play tag with unsuspecting birds.


4.

a cardinal i know lands softly,
folds his wings about himself
in a silk robe of winter air;
blinks, turns his head slowly,
pretends to be an owl.
twisted maple fingers reach for a feverish sun,
cast Chinese shadows on the snow.


5.

soon, darkness will close its lid on my horizon.
a dog will cry at an opal moon,
set in shimmering obsidian surrounded by the stars.
through a breeze thin as cold tissue,
i'll hear flowers bloom in the dead of night.


6.

two silver teeth take bites of earth,
cover the dream with a blanket of dirt.



© Mark E. Dougherty