Poem 20150804

the clay is pretty quiet
when you work it

it doesn’t talk
the mouth only opens
if you’ve taken the time
to make a mouth

even then
one side is higher
flatter
not quite

there’s no tongue
no teeth behind the facade
of lips

if you work the loop
fast enough
you can hear the clay
as it smooths out
and falls in curls
onto the table

that’s a kind
of subtractive talking
all goodbyes
all goodbyes