Of Girls and Stars

The priceless gems of evening carry

riddles in their shining, stoppage

in their leading light that glues

my shoes to high-heeled puzzles,

prizes for the night. Stars play

hide and seek like coy and callous

girls, crackling with beauty and raising

their skirts, flirting and blinking

and winking as they feign their sudden

fear of thunder. I walk beneath

their legs and storms, wonder why

they play with me, why they decorate

their bodies, why they talk and turn

and wrap their backs in shawls of mist,

and strap on clouds to hide their thighs

and eyes when my soul moves.

With girls and stars, sometimes, I think

I�d rather toss their sugar into morning

coffee, stirred and sipped with the sun,

but their sweet contradictions grow

in the rain, swell in high light, and

their tastes and tortures reappear

in magic cups when their lovely lamps

go on at dusk.

(first appeared in Hiss Quarterly)