Poem for Friday, January 29, 2010

If This Is Death, I Want Death

Even in its purest form the snow

still smothers

all creatures

kills all souls.

The oaks & birches

naked and frozen

tell me they haven't grown a single leaf

in months.

Don't worry

I understand

I'm naked and frozen too.

If this is death

I saw it

from my window

euthanizing us

with an ivory-toothed smile

holding our hands

while carefully pulling the plug

from the outlet.

The maples & pines

ask me if heaven is green

before it's gold.

How should I know

I wonder

I've never been there.

If that is heaven

I sang about it

from a dusty hymnal

long ago

long before

I saw

the snow.