She used to say, Patience Mathilda

The closer you get, the louder it seems. -Darla Whitehead, The Book of Warnings

I am homesick all the time
for paradise, as we all are
when we desire sugar -
opera and plants make it
go away for a while
but it always comes back to
these new jobs and papers,
all this rent, the neverending
trauma underneath the haze.

In tutte parti impera e quivi regge;
quivi è la sua città e l'alto seggio:
oh felice colui cu' ivi elegge!

Little Bo Peep ammonia,
Mr. Don Terry sells old jars
that hold a particle or two
of the previous owner's crop.
She taught me to say bean pole,
he taught me to get some rest.
The labels come off easily
when everyone is sleeping
but I caught that goat didn't I?

The rest of the day doesn't matter
light is just an envelope, clocks
go round and round. It isn't
just an act.


Mary Shelley's Mathilda