In One Small Room

Butterflies have not failed you, you just

Can’t see they’ve come into your room.

Perching on the flower of your urinal,

I see one blessing you even now.

Dolphins have not failed you.

You just can’t tell they swim the swells

Of your blankets, blessing

the sea you’re bound to.

Bats have not failed you.

They join you in your solitary night-days.

Circling your room by moonlight,

Trying to eat all the mosquitos of worry.

Ospreys, octopi and tree frogs join you

As you look for joy in one small room.

Your life is woven with theirs, my child,

You are never in this world alone.

7/2019

On the Verge:Poets of the Palisades III

(The Poet's Press, 2020)