8.15.99, midnite

Is it midnight
          somewhere
we were talking of time
          earlier
and what it takes away
          and how it relates to
dream
          
          How the silent
hands hold captive
in our hearts and minds
          if only
we could stop and see
how fragile a moment
this wrinkling of flesh
this shadow of bone greets
          body bend

          this urge to get back
this telephone call the
one to say I am not coming
over           this change
of mind this
deferred truth or
remembered half-truth
this acknowledgment of
kin this opening
this love familiar
or dream of
          familiarity
this place to be this
compass point
this ferris wheel
          somersault
                    dragon's tail
          mane
                    this eventualism
this unopened box
this mustered strength
this house of waffling
and my schizophrenic
                              voice
this determination to
spill my beans to
have no beans                    no
this flirtatious appetite
          undercover job
this oh well
                    this
never mind
          selfless self
helpless
          considering a
lament          last days of
conscious memory
why don't you say
something