Suddenly Everything
The hills mimic—
They settle into themselves.
The ugly faces on the train project
Themselves onto it— The landscape—
So now the moon is disconsolate—
Following us around like a runt sibling. A dwarf memory.
A young man lurches as if the train had braked
Abruptly. Though he is not ill. He has
The demeanor of a wild animal—
The wolf.
Easy to attach mystique to. He is looking out the window.
It is obvious
By the lampblack light of the star pierced sky
And the blue sheen of curving railroad
That he is suffering
A privileged disease.
In his heart he is uttering.
The click of hard wheels amaze
With its complacency.
In its complicity with his prayers—
Chiming with every word.
Those wheels are resolute—
They are hurting— Prick them.
They whine. Spilling
Stars. The boy blackens
The evergreen forest with just one sweeping glance.
Oh God he sighs.
The trees snatch shadows and take on new forms.
They swoon.
They have never been more alive— More close
To obliteration.
He clutches at himself.
He sighs.
Something howls. The hills open
With a yawn. The horses its teeth.
The river its tongue.
It screams.
He begs. He cries out— If you do not come— all
These things would mean nothing
If you do come all these things would mean nothing.
Suddenly everything—
Disappears.
