My White Cloak Part one: Place Entering day by day (1) Into a place to grow and stay Into the foundational walls of old

Busy decisions Like an endless moon cycle Such a waxing life

Such an empty sky Countless pensive glances are Over and over Swallowed swift, before their time If only I could keep them

Bickering tree frogs Endless croaking back and forth Dream a soothing song One where two branches can meet In this capital forest

Tiny flashing lights Figures entwine together Closer and closer ‘closer than ever’ they say Beside our computer screens

A midst cold classrooms Seemingly short dialect Audio-connect Slowly frozen hearts will drip As conversations bubble

Twelve in numbered spin Once reaching double digits Feel the crisp brisk sweeps Sudden gentle remainders Subtle breath of orange array

To etch a love song No earthy ink can suffice Only color drawn From such a naive heart-well Could paint even an inkling

Scattering shy leaves Skittering down two by two In Fall’s breeze they sink Forming such a golden path Blind-folded hearts can follow

I pray for the day When my mind is clear Silence, sweet silence Schemes and impulses forgone To live without a shadow

Is there something dark? Dark, dark, deep down inside me Something that keeps me Away from the center ring A divergent path indeed

To grasp at the root This longing for the seasons Hidden deep, deep down To say it’s just “Natural,” Would only scratch the leaf-tops

Anticipation Generic butterflies swarm Twists, knots, fluttering They find no golden nectar Only number two pencils

Red and orange glitter Dancing delicately high Above winding paths Falling to the great grey streams Falling for grace, or duty?