I did not ask for the elegiac lament
Of amorous longings or immutable learnings
For who am I to know the contours and claws tearing the comforter,
Dizzy dancing dissolves my breath
I lean into the balcony’s edge
Rocked by your fables
Tenderly, tenderly.

The remorse of Aeneas’ oath, sickly sweet
Shared bath towels bloom in hooked corners
Chamomile and sacrament
I hear the sentiment You said you meant—
        You said you meant—

Amidst cologne pillows
I drowse in cumulus restlessness
Unspeaking kisses in unmade bedrooms
Silent movie dreams chain ivory to horn
Lovingly, lovingly.

Dido, storm-tossed, cradles me
I lean into the balcony’s edge, tremblingly
Ensnared in judicial judgments
Have I come too late? And who am I to adjudicate
I heard the claws ring on kitchen tile-ways.

I woke and went for a walk
Past the stadium lights
Past the moon waxing warm
Past the little alabaster statues
Past a lost journal found
Past broken bridges, roadblocks
This sign means stop
Only why don’t you know, why don’t you?