Like a bird,

a story I tell about a carver

From the perch of my middle class

I watch you slide by me
as if you had business with Zen
daily construction contracts with the Japanese

knew all about precise needles to acupunctures

good spelling of soul tai chi feng chui
massaging words
of age and wisdom

you fly by me like a tarot card

tossed in fast in a bet in Vegas
like an arroyo in Madrid of New Mexico
in quicksand

yet stripped off clothing,
material wealth and maybe home
upon return I watch you

grounded by the Merchant Marine

the daughters of the American revolution
the Labor Party
and the Navy 

grounded by the endless

idyllic love of your father
for your mother
  
grounded by conviction

As if you had business with the soul

knew of the intricate weavings
embroideries of this imaginary
as if you knew why and how and when.

I watch you fly

carver
like a friend to something
like a loss

I watch you carve
as I etch words out of
I watch you fly
like me

a bird in migration