along across ridges valleys
from city streets
through open forested uplands
water highways flatlands
from patterson to herring run back river bear creek
lexington to elkridge through halethorpe
lafayette to elicott through catonsville
druid hill to gwynns falls roland montebello
wyman to loch raven through towson
montebello to loch raven clifton
clifton to patterson
herring run to loch raven
green ways
in arcing sun
walking
in jet stream
sliding on water
cutting into semiliquid
flying on unbonded ice
in the ferry channel by empty anchorages
over shoals
by thomas cove
past points lookout wagners leading stony rocky sandy
moss goose pond
whitehall bay
onto the severn
around the frozen hemisphere
in tropical light
the white
man
rode the burrow
from santiago hacia las sierra maestra
sobre el rio juragua
robo
hierro duro
de la tierra esponjos
on the semitropical marsh
tons of cold air exploded tons of molten iron
iron and carbon separating and rejoining
with blistered hands
charred faces
mangled arms
fractured skulls
into smooth hard slick steel
y en la selva humeda
on the broken tarmac
ruins
resignation
religion
immitation
sunwarmed
pink white yellow red orchidmesmerized
orange tea rose thymeinfused
smooth velvet pricklytouched
grovequiet
i am transported
to another place in time
only here and now
brook brown and rainbow trout bass and carp
rise shimmering to hatches in deep pools riffles and fast flows
of mayflies caddisflies midges stoneflies
nymphs pupa duns spinners
to grasshoppers beetles ants cicadas crickets inchworms moths
poor fliers swarms
shrimp scuds sowbugs crayfish
leeches
minnows bullheads sculpins
snails craneflies dragonflies damselflies
in eleven cubic feet per second of coldwater
through fields of corn and wheat
cathedrals of eastern hardwood and deposits of salt petre
tasters of our royal cup
cinders burning straw wind
clay to park liberty saratoga lexington
a factory on fire spawned men from windows
framehouses and brickhouses exploded in lightning and thunder
shouts and cries chorused into wailing prophesy
dragons pulled wagons through smoke and cinder
firefighters labored on the edge of sacrifice
crows and vultures circled updrafts high above
soaked blankets and men eclipsed the basilica.
the kindling fire in the shavings box next to the engine room
sparked from some strange density
beneath the street
unsettled i swarm a multitude
invading this place
cycling through so many sundays
greeting strangers in wooded undulating water vistas
an ideal passenger leaving little trace
wanting clear city springs unbuilt boulevards streetcars
primordial flocks and schools of birds and fish.
until i just breath
the most tricky scoundrels
with soaring trees and deep bogs
loam peat clay sand
animalia prokaryota
breathing
the slim skin.
we etch tattoo and seal
scratch bleach and scar
girdling
scattering salve
a whirling doctor
haunted by raspy echoing
that brings no rain
pero tal vez olor amoniaco
shall we each find a time and place
to dance on the waters
of the sea that surrounds us
bursting thunderbolts
throb the heads
of wandering few in sunny streets
silent as night,
fearing vomit black like coffee grounds
hiccup hiccup hiccup hiccup hiccup hiccup
aching eyes red turning yellow
sweated skin dried and chill
ears and nose bleeding
stupor delirium deranged sense of return to health
doctors letting blood and dosing mercury
cart rides to hospitals where insane might wail and call.
business stagnates and banks oppress
