Shaken, If

Tumult beneath the skim where surfaces
appear hindered--restless; a trace of nerves
in the fervid plum.

..................***

Denudation by inserting ersatz rose--
etch it into the shadow of your smile.

.................***

Steady the crickets--an elegy, leaves
& pine. The monolithic & impregnable.
Holy symbols like wilted flowers;
cinched close--pipe stems; a vigil.

................***

Unplaceable sparrow with wounds,
ash against the shadowy backdrop
of a broken bough.

& this, a consoling angle to perch on
for the one whose face is lopped
with fragmental speech, confidential
words.

...............***

this is the moment where flight is
.....inevitable.