Earthbound
1.
My hunger chews at the machine
of the world. It's either gasoline
or food, and the automobile
is so shiny. All the seasons
falling now. We cakewalk around
the fouled waters. Seeds buried in
some backyard will see the fires
before they see the weary sun.
2.
Who keeps the artifacts of that
distant time? Who owns the toucans or
carnival lights? If the blind dog
forgets them, do they disappear?
Pictures bleached to chemical sky;
they mock our reddened eyes, control
the story of a once green past;
they own the story of after.
3.
But I'm a flippant sinner, just
a whisper of calliope
for a soul. My sunburned shoulders
wrapped in breeze, a bird of fun and
frenzy, unable to listen
or belong, My private song begs
for transcendence, but the promise
of a lost world is to starve the stars.