THE STARTLED TRAIN

 

If the blizzard jumbles like a leather watch

Then the circuit storm was sorrow’s night

Where moonflowered raisins swell

Doting sparks mark marrow notch for notch

 

So the worth of a thousand-scallop stew

Reverses the waves, the tinkering hours

And the yew plants a story in the lea

(The lover’s cup: reedy ivory)

 

Starred, the leafy train schedules bark

A quince calls, will call, all thighs and crown

While coral light will right the heart’s cry hold

And back the tangled waters creep and fold


JANUARY 2007