People agree with sleep
They nod into it
but death they sometimes fight off
until they can’t
and then
from their graves
they stick out their tongues
Good for them
Good for the people
In the world I can see
there is one tree still raining
The sun blares around
lights it up
in lines alongside the spiders’
They have an arrangement
a private design
When I’m arranged
into a mother
I will name my child
Incredulity and like it so much
I’ll do it again
three or four
or eight times
Stand up!
Good and straight like a tree
good and stiff like
the rain darkened gravestone
perpendicular
to the quiet
Or sit down
and make a nice lap
nod Incredulity off into sleep
Enumerate to her the lines
of the song you haven’t meant yet
David S. MacLean
