last night
when a shadow bent down
from the clouds above the balcony
and stole a diaphanous layer of moonlight
hovering just above the surface

time was silenced.
i thought it was you.
the summer sun is wilting all the flowers
the trees are eloquently mute
the mosquitoes harder to evade
than you could ever imagine

there is no need for such merciless humidity,
any more than there is a need
for joy or sorrow
or to die for a philosophy
before dreams are done
dreams that are longer than life

this poem is for everything
i have forgotten, lovers
i have never loved,
thoughts i have never dared
to think
in a short life spent looking
for the last snowfall
the first breath of spring

time and gravity are the only
enemies, a counterclockwise reality
that takes us to a final incomplete completion.
nebulous clouds like a shadow-lover
surge and sail on
the universe revolves in greatness
just outside the window

a leaf grows, turns green, then yellow;
then falls,
making the windchime sing