Only This Life
By Mong-Lan
1
only you are allowed to enter
voice for the first time
the look hesitant undemanding
body supple as sound
the hand unexpected a fruit falling
skin curves of sand
lull below the arms
scent of the ocean's salt
2
the body pushed into life's mouth
3
velvet crunch
of white under feet my heart
snowy lizards' tails
sleeping on branches
arms rhyme
with bending earth
a shadow slants
like a calligrapher's quill
4
pass the threshold
5
a genus of the solitary
the knitted
night stained-glass boxes
where memories ferment
unplanned you come
6
saguaros crack monsoons
consider erosion of rocks
water's fire lit
worlds intersect dusk purity of ascent
ferocious nose of a cat
incandescent through forces
stay up waiting
planes converge fates intersect
7
how long does a measure last?
8
sea in the sky
knives
striking obliquely army of light
beating walls
the aquamarine houses are ghosts
between crystal trees
water steals over skewed floors
only this life
9
a cat sleeps one eye opened
Copyright Credit: Mong-Lan, "Only This Life" from Why is the Edge Always Windy?. Copyright © 2005 by Mong-Lan. Reprinted by permission of Tupelo Press.
Source: Why is the Edge Always Windy? (Tupelo Press, 2005)