paradox and mortification

i.

for many many moons
under the dreamer's watchful eyes
hungry fingers have touched
my mind
with a thousand and one perfected love poems
but the mind erases what it doesn't
want to see and the sky
remains serene,

somewhere near
a poet dons
her hairshirt, does penance
for memories

only
a heart is pierced by beauty
and the moment lived
is strange unfathomable pain

ii.

a mantis religiosa is stalking heaven
his camouflage nearly complete,
the landscape unknown,
new eyes growing
devouring the night

iii.

come,
cross this algid river of despair,
let us use these poems
as stepping stones

iv.

we are being eaten alive,
an apple falls
red, round and tempting