The Launch

Prologue

The message told us to be still,
to wait and watch
like we never had before.
Each day was the last sun
we would see.
Many of us could not carry a story
the way birds do.
Many of us could not carry a sentence
the way the past did.

l

The bird is on the fence now.
I want to know the truth,
how we lost our ability to speak.
I wait and watch.

ll

I have listened.
Now I can fly.
Each flight begins with a jump.
This was helpful.

lll

The way we speak became twisted.
It broke into pieces, unspeakable now.
Only sign and expression remain.
Eyes and encounter.
Dance and embrace.
Handshake, kiss, wink.

lV

The tower rose like the beanstalk,
disappearing into the clouds.
Somewhere above,
a nest in a tree.

Epilogue

An act of kindness:

How could I tell her the sun
would melt the ice cream?
The shadow changed.
Only the cone was left.
In the shadow she
placed it on her head.
A party hat, a tiny dunce.

Mitten( German) in the Middle

I was borne and raised up in here.
My name comes from the shape of this great state.
I love being Michigan. What? I said I love being in Michigan.
Everyone seems alright here. I mean everything seems
right here in front of me.
You all know I am coming back to Michigan now
where trees are the best, no, the right height.
The grass is the right color right now.
I used to color it as a child.
It won't always be like that.
But I feel right.
I mean it just feels right about all sorts of things.
Some of the parts of Michigan have dots of lakes,
lots of lakes, like the great lake.
I love them all.
They are inland.
Sometimes I've been to Massachusetts
where I love the ocean.
I love all the oceans everywhere.
But lakes don't get salt on you after swimming,
and there's no seaweed on you,
and lakes do not let you worry about
things eating you in them.
Thank you. It's good to have a home.