Two Worlds Poem by Michael Rothenberg

The amber tongue contains the carcass of
An ant. Our thoughts crucified with
Ruby nails hammered flush against the
Expatriate utterances of stolen voices
Hemming, hawing, planning, damning
Rivers too big to succumb to the pharmacy
Somewhere there's a way back, sure
But where was that place? It was health
Two divided worlds we walked, both of us
Who never knew it well, wrote our
Last will with hindsight. The future will
Not rest. We didn't do a very good job
Learning the new each other. Like Heron
And Crane: 'And to this very day they
Go to each other to propose but never get
Married.' Pour wine over brimming
Lip of glass, splotch white table-cloth
Pressed with blues, argue out blame
Say goodnight in tears