MALIBULA
The fresh water tongue of Malibu Creek
Slips into the mouth of the sea,
It’s the taste of life you know,
Sweetness and brine, married in time.
Susan’s praying to a sycamore tree,
Painting the air, head back,
Brush up, painting S’s in the air,
Another lover, mesmerized,
She and the bestial tree.
A mongoose stands silent erect
Under the
Spreading hood,
Immortal embrace, swaying,
A monk in habit, praying.
Another soul seeks release in
Sacramental tongue,
There is salt in all memory,
To you I have come.
Drink me deep salacious, sea
Fresh and sweet and overflowing,
Marry me in salt,
For I am good and swollen,
Overflowing
With new rain.
—from Rattle #1, 1995
