–for Marvin Bell
I was guilty of reversing things
So that water was sky when I rowed the boat early mornings
& I could see the purpose of trees was the perfection of earth—
Boyhood was like swallows in June, I flew everywhere upside down & fast
O & I made solemn work of shadows
Begging the darkness
With my own darkness
A trick of the blind
Always the smallest grains of feeling
This is why the gravity of seasons
Holds me awake—
Almost foolish to say
I believe snowfall
Is the form and habit of gods
& they return against our will
& they talk of natural facts
They talk of natural facts
Whenever I want to cry I think of boyhood & the gods
The virtual emptiness of a child’s early mornings blind in a boat…
S.K.
Planet of the Blind 