I saw in effigy the prairies
as if nothing had ever been
but that expanse under starlight;
...
they gave to you a ring of tin
a shoe of stone
no happy end
...
is the gold of His tears remembered
slipping from the sun
from distant clouds
...
on the day you choose
on a day this is chosen for you
you will hear the news
...
[to Charles Schulz]
close your eyes and pray to land in Oz
I say to myself on gusty days
...
simple it was then and lovely to be told
that all the leaves were red and gold
and this was named, autumn
...
[for Sara Teasdale]
the blossom that fell from the Poetry Tree
I cupped in my hands: was it the colour of snow?
...
time ticks in your hands with a sad translucence
you don't understand because
the metronome is weighted
...
[after the tale of Hansel and Gretal}
this is all that we have left, we said to ourselves-
in the Land of Going Away;
...
well here's that Umbrella you lost
right beside the Parrot in the upside down cage;
the cerise one you bought in the drugstore
...