Day slips in 
like a weary
traveler into a 
warm bath waiting 
for the water 
to soothe away 
and carry off
the day’s wounds
and it does 
and they do 
until rising and 
the water clings
bringing with it
that very stress
so much for 
baptism removing sins 

The buildings bathe
in a musk
a phosphorus frequently 
found at the 
forest’s bottom hanging 
hiding and hindering 
those who look 
from seeing anything 
trees are known 
to be there 
even those like 
these poured by
men and made
of cold stone 
weeds these are 
invasive species even 
choking the plains 

Death is 
a part
of life 
just as
a door 
is a
part of 
a room 

The evening sky
above the mountains 
is a dusty 
scoop of orange 
sherbet the range 
one long shadow 
of humpback whales 
in a riptide 
as darkness slowly 
creeps like cats
pursuing a mouse 
night will come 
as surely as 
dawn will tomorrow 

And now they’re gone 
those very same raindrops 
packed away I suppose 
like decorations after holiday 
or treasures and trinkets 
collected and lovingly spied
for a while anyway 
until the last of
the salt water smell 
gets washed away or
like tears withheld or
withdrawn or wiped away 
now gone all gone