7/31/16: And Today

morning

offers another gray-faced

shrug

7/30/16: The Forced Smile Effect

“It’s about,” they say,

“pretending you are not

pretending”

and every other

animal wearing leashes

now invisible

roiling squall—voice

somewhere between shouting

and weeping

clouds smudged

at the horizon—leaves nod

to a breath of wind

my heart—

beating the rhythm

you know

when the sky

becomes dim enough—shadows

absorb us