Jigsaw: Second Narrows Bridge at Rush Hour

Seamless afternoon to evening across the bridge beyond

across the other bridge curving dark landfall lights 
upon the sea, our mother swims backward, Earle Birney 
smokes a pipe upon the lookout & pens a line in boots

atomic city below, Aldebaran above

in your eyes Pacific skies take me to paradise please 
I want to live
in a little grass shack  in Ha-aha-Hawaii 
where the hula hula hula goes hucka hucka hucka by 
and the hula hula huckity-huckin'
hacka hacka hacka, by

our missing person of the blue mountains 
and Liberian freighters, potash proceedings

& queen mattresses at unbelievable prices on the radio 
opinions & traffic hell of twilight 
continuously heading home
in a dome of judgement and advice, oh caller 
with a problem, Dr. Laura says you're slime 
and that you are a bum but I say you're some hard part 
of the puzzle rigged up by the moon and 
feathery evergreen branches

complicated wings full of blue shadows 

a foot at least of shimmering ocean each small 
notched piece a dark blue mystery. 

But who would have the patience?

Copyright © 2000 by Sharon Thesen. From A Pair of Scissors by Sharon Thesen; reprinted by permission of House of Anansi Press. All rights reserved.