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.