Inside this book...

<> THE LIVING DAY

There is

vigorous hope

so long as

there is

aching life.

Come.

Revolve.

The coffins

fall off

the ship.

The anchor,

the port,

the buoy,

the sailor,

boy and girl,

stew cat,

mouse,

tundra,

and rat

(yes,

even

the

inanimate)

come

to see

and

discern.

<> SWEPT AWAY

Swept away

by blip or blink.

Stopped short,

rake in hand.

Come! Enter!

Take off

heavy shoes.

In the foyer the fire,

the milk and berry bush.

All these alive.

And Rudolph

slips and chips

off a block,

as someone

(maybe the

ghost of mistakes)

laughs at the

red berries.

<> GOLDEN PARACHUTE

Golden parachute

opens halfway to the moon and

scatters the crows. They fly

backwards over ancient dunes,

dropping blackberries for love.

<> TOTAL IMMERSION

As you

like it,

a crab feast

(in times

reserved

for before

the accident

of human

maneuvers

in lavender rain,

cerulean snow)

and the reflection

of a boat on the water.

<> GOLDEN EYE

I open my mind

and find

a stethoscope

I dance in the dark

and fling mud

at yesterday

I sing

and forget

the planets

It is the way

of the

willow

Arisen, arrived

colored by many

rainbows

As distance dissolves

and clouds

fly on

An excerpt from THE MAGNIFICENT MUNIFICENCE.

Copyright 2020 by Pete O'Brien. All Rights Reserved.