CRASH & COURSE

by Elizabeth Switaj

 

eventually we found the plane
     settled in a sea of glass
shards between        bright-blood fish
who settled on our skin to suck
whatever remained
                         unfocused on retrieval
& so converted instinct into genius of desire

you took so many feet with you
to wander, blend your slender bones (less skin)
                into starved processions
                   too tired for disorder
until a grain appears
                        or a woman's earring
                          is taken for a gun
       in how it turns the sun

if we only had eyes on soles
all our loved ones would be found

I knew it wasn't true
                              & settled down to find
my love in me & to recall
the three green specks in his blue eyes
the pattern of his stubble
the whole of his face beyond light that allowed
     photography & paint

I couldn't look to see
how many stayed with me
                               -- can you count?

 

 

Return to table of contents here.