how did my hands
get so heavy
and why do they weigh
so much
even when i
am asleep
Tag: hands
hand washing (20170628)
i watched the water
take the soap
in a small spiral
down the drain
it carried the dirt of the day
knuckles (20160720)
these hands hurt
when the knuckles squeeze
together
like old, emaciated hobos
hugging
all bones and angles
but in the clay
they feel nothing
but the clay
Poem 20160320
i want to touch you
with my hands
and then
i want you to touch me
a simple exchange of heat
between two lovers
enough heat
so that we have to
throw off the sheets
Poem 20160211
like spring
you bring growth in me
burgeoning green shoots
tendrils of pale yellow
reaching for the sun
like summer
you give me the sleepy
hums of insects
the sweet-tart taste of lemonade
and the smell of fresh cut lawns
like autumn
you wrap me in sweaters and coats
you are the gold explosions of leaves
that the wind sets in circular dance
like winter
you give me rest and peace
while darkness overtakes light
still we have this fire
this time, this together
——
Edited on 20160214 to remove that last two stanzas to create a new poem with them. See here.
Poem 20160113
he had nothing
in his hands to offer
yet she took them anyway
–but my hands are empty
she filled his cupped palms
with cool water
in the dark
they watched
the moon undulate
in his palms
–you have enough
Poem 20150618
the beautiful immediacy of your hands
compels me to remember how cold they were
that first time i took one in my own
and we initiated a transfer of body heat
from my palm to yours
as if my blood sang a song
and your heart sang
the chorus at first
and then the harmony
until we were the same temperature
Poem 20150603
let the hands move
they move
they move on
they move of their own accord
a truth in their movement
a truth in how
they slide
the hands slide
the hands pause
and trace shapes
and trace curves
let them trace
let them draw
let them follow
and grasp
and hold
each hand
five fingers true
and a truth in the muscles
and in the tendons
and in the bones
and in the marrow of the bones
and in the anima that moves them
Poem 20150307
let’s not forget where we came from
and what we are
sweating sacks of meat
full of holes and sticky protrusions
gibbering blobs of flesh
fire and wetness and groping hands
slobbering mouths and undulating tongues
winking and blinking in the sunlight
scurrying and huddling together on moonless nights
and finding peace only in others
like outselves
Poem 20150213
break all the hearts
snap them until your hands
are caked with candy dust
and the food safe inks
coat your fingers like
blood
dig out the cherry centers
of all the chocolates
evacuate the liqueur
and save it to burn in lamps
made of human flesh
and human bone
call upon st. valentine
to strike with his crozier
to break open every heaving chest
expose every swiftly beating heart
like a surgeon intent
on eradicating some diseased
greasy, necrotized mass of tissue
so the lungs can finally fill with air
Words and Feathers 