Sixty-One
a bouncing spineless head marks my calendar
chunks come in six of one half a dozen of the other
day to day wax and wane begs what age the moon
that dances on the esplanade to every composition
of opus number sixty-one and never rests on Sundays
phasing out leap seconds the earth rotates in tune
down here it is atomic physics over astronomy’s array
how do I attend to the hours of the day
skytellers pause draped in mortal flame
to arrive at the hour with uncompleted tasks
who has lived one thousand full moons
one must be an octogenarian to bask
to celebrate the eighty-one-year-old dame
one hundred nights one hundred noons
run to catch the train in immersive bouts
of vote vote vote with little gifts of dread
surprise dots on the date take note
play the long game of suppose
a land of milk and honey the same
body scrub thermal mineral mud spa menus
her hair was wrapped in a towel to tame
check the box color in the oval with blue inkblots
do not let the ballot get wet track it in the mail
post turn and flourish in seeds of the season
nutmeg cloves and pumpkin spice teacups
sunset stress tied up in the grand illusion
birthday wishes balloon appointments wait
some logged twice for no reason
color-coded events and that treason
dinners and galas remind me to respond
wedding Rsvp key option then the letter
please please please répondez s îl vous plait
anniversaries vacations holidays send notifications
ligatured guillemets shift forward as if it is the only way
symbols backlight habits keeping time
no menses only regress or progress to convince
I deserve playdate readings under daylight neon
noontime planner check journal check
but you can not pencil in the flow
fade the active cell into the moon
floating through time’s squares
luminous poems of twenty-nine days
visit five astronomical clocks around the world
Torrazo of Cremona to Prague to Wells Cathedral
but where is Rasmus Sørnes fourth clock
sarc or question mark
Stargazers with big yellow lilies and pincushions
Wednesday’s happiness in a vase
October blankets of red yellow and orange
statues fall opal charmed in found movements
stand walk slide undulating crashing waves
bioluminescence comes over me and I ask myself
will I remember this day
will I remember the moon
go and make your mark go and ask why
one pink-throated hummingbird in quilting paper
stealing green fire the purple mountain comet
pulled the night hunter through the sky
consciousness is harnessed to flesh
and I do not want to punctuate this or that night
so natural it is to sing dance and pray in groups
it is just as unnatural to speak eloquently in public
can I find the invincible in this twilight
on this counterfeit night there is forgiven time
for given and invented words to mingle
to think in words a byproduct of solitude
have I had enough have I had enough
time to create a wildness of shadows
what have you found in portmanteaus
a moondance under the moongiant
moonstruck by moonflowers at halfmoon
hours of the weak in atomic beats
Lady Mondegreen is encapsulated in moonglow
unable to get the etymology of lunatic out of her mind
she shoots moonbeams from crown to fingertips
toes in the sands of time drip hours in a glass
another bad moon magic honeymoon dance
the bell struck in reflecting hours
giving the moon’s coordinated time
stealing luminous green moonfire moment
in the light of fixed stars at right ascension
lunation lives moonlucid
in the number that risks rare promethium
watch the clock at play
the sound at the heart of time is music
now how do I attend to the hours of the day
