Testing the soul's mettle,
the frost heaves
holes in the roads
to the heart,
...
In the glass-bottomed boat
of our lives, we putter along
gazing at the other world
under the sea-
...
At dusk Demeter
becomes afraid
for baby Persephone
lost in that hell
...
The raspberries
in my driveway
have always
been here
...
I have known the imperial power of secretaries,
the awesome indifference of receptionists,
I have been intimidated by desk & typewriter,
by the silver jaws of the stapler
...
My love is too much-
it embarrasses you-
blood, poems, babies,
red needs that telephone
...
You gave me a rose
last time we met.
I told myself
if it bloomed
...
At the furthermost reach of the sea
where Atlantis sinks under the wake of the waves,
I have come to heal my life.
I knit together like a broken arm.
...
When I am an old lady
the young men
will come to me
& sit trembling
...
When the devil brings him,
like a Christmas puppy,
examine his downy fur & smell
his small paws for the scent
...