Jupiter

Published Dec. 6, 2024, 8:39 p.m.

i am climbing and it is dark

but i can see the bark in front of me and

the stars above me and when i crest the canopy

i can see more, oh much more

sky and sea and even juniper

growing by the

twinflat cones where trees break, moving fast

them and me and jupiter

and even spiders in the boughs

even spiders in the boughs

congregation at the worldroof

the ministration of faint clouds

But now i am a passenger and now i am the bus.

Now i am of one mind of engine oil lust,

Gripping handle-worn plastic loops

Still warm from another’s touch.

And juniper lines the roadside, the darkened windows shake.

i am going down to Delta but i know i’ll be late.

i am fractured when i come here;

There is no whole that is not many.

The diesel shouts beneath me, the plastic windows rattle,

Faces take on darkness that spills in off the road.

i am not frightened, it’s only shade reflecting shadow.

When the driver kills the lights,

And it gets darker still,

i swear i see jupiter

Through the cobwebbed window sill.

Nocturne