comfortable

LAST NIGHT

goodnight, 

she said at the break of day 

and closed her eyes

and opened her eyes 

and said, 

goodmorning.

you came by these doorjambs 

when the day was done 

and the cash register had counted it's last, 

but i will lock the door behind you 

and you can turn the sign 

and not turn the lights out 

and tell me about the cracks in the sidewalks 

outside my picture windows, he said. 

and she turned the sign 

and turned over letters 

and spelled every single word he had ever read, 

flipped the switch, 

and told him,
there are some cracks that would swallow your shoes 

and others that don't even know themselves. 

once i fell in up to my knees 

and my father threw me a rope 

and the rope turned into your arm 

and I held on tight and started flying. 

goodnight, 

he said at the first of the morning light 

and closed his eyes 

and opened his eyes 

and said 

goodmorning. 

a minute ago while i was dreaming, he said, 

i saw a thousand cracks 

and at the bottom of 

everysingleone 

there was a mirror 

and when i bent at the knee to look i did not see me, i saw you.

those were not mirrors, 

they were windows 

and behind those windows 

were portraits of me, 

and behind those portraits of me is where i sat, 

with answers. 

& waiting. 

i ate an oatmeal sandwich 

cut diagonally 

and drew a thousand pictures of my shoes not walking 

and not touching the ground.

and sometime afterall of this, he said, god, 

there are so many things in this life that are real 

and you are one 

and you have shown me another 

and this one has fingernails 

and eyeballs 

and is not hotwater. 
and god said, child, 

there are. 

and there are things in this life that are more than real 

and i will show you one. 

and he did 

and there were a thousand colors in every single light 

and the air stopped moving 

and there were ripples on the backs of his hands 

and the bottoms of his shoes and, and.

and she turned to leave and she did not drive
and she turned to leave and she did not walk
and she turned to leave and she did not run
and she turned to leave and she did not crawl

and she turned to leave 



and she flew.