W. S. Merwin

[birdcages.livejournal.com]

Some Last Questions

What is the head
               A.  Ash
What are the eyes
               A.  The wells have fallen in and have
                     Inhabitants
What are the feet
               A.  Thumbs left after the auction
No what are the feet
               A.  Under them the impossible road is moving
                     Down which the broken necked mice push
                     Balls of blood with their noses
What is the tongue
               A.  The black coat that fell of the wall
                     With sleeves trying to say something
What are the hands
               A.  Paid
No what are the hands
               A.  Climbing back down the museum wall
                     To their ancestors the extinct shrews that will
                     Have left a message
What is the silence
               A.  As though it had a right to more
Who are the compatriots
               A.  They make the stars of bone

Comments

[tokio.livejournal.com]

I dig this.