Cemetery

Little brown sparrow,

the paupers’ cemetery

is your nesting place.

Shrine

In a wooded place,

a tiny shrine to Mary

houses garter snakes.

Yellow butterfly,

the pallbearer’s left shoulder

is your resting place.

First day of April—

a wren finds a nesting place

in an old straw hat.

planning a journey

to a place no one has mapped

except in my dreams

Three morning glories

blooming in a secret place—

why shouldn’t I sing?

In a lonely place

a clown in whiteface dances—

only one hand claps.