Leslie Philibert Poems

a small locked heart,
webbed and half fish

or a netted bird;
...

A bite like hot charcoal
a nate full
of stolen baby teeth
...

An old man in a kitchen prepares tea.
Carefully lighting a gas stove with matches
he boils water in a heavy enamel kettle.
With hands hidden in wool gloves he pours
...

a step-aside perspective
of less perfect petals
shaken by the thick air

steady and warm
...

Thrown is earth;
weightless through an open palm,
petals mixed with shouts,
a door closed; the sky locked down.
...

Breath of the night sky
autumn rain cleans small cold stars
river ice of jade
...

A plate of glass
shallows ankle deep,
brew of fern and dark water
where the dogs of rain
...

If there was a God
that could let me live forever
My love for you
would last twice as long as this.
...

On the Autobahn
between Mühldorf and
Ampfing there is,
at night,
...

A snapper, a black bag of lungs
low to the earth, a crust of dried leaves.
Eyes full of running, a sharp head turning
to head a sky full of moons, howl.
...