Steam Pipes

the smell and the heavy tread of the floorboards
day merged with night, the milkyway
casting a trance above the porch.
warm house
thick air
clock measuring weeks in slow motion.

we act out a prefabricated dance of
i want you/you don't want me.

indian summer
the progression of the leaves
from branch to sidewalk.
steam
the whine of the steam in the pipes.

our dance goes on
i leave my head behind

purple felt flowers dry and snow
into the kitten's bed.

hands drop from the clock.

mechanisms. cassiopeia revolving.
fall turns her back to the south.
my cousin dies.
orion rises on the horizon.