David Wimbish Circles And Lines
Today she dropped the glass and shattered many things
And you had not yet thought of where you'd set your ring
Do we seem more in love than you used to think?
Where is your white dove, your flood, your ship to sink?
We made a bed for one from places made to sit
And I tried to shape my love to stoops and drinks and kicks
My thoughts were wordless, your heart spoke loud enough
And your tears were no match for my dark tattered cuffs
And I felt guilty for the warmth inside my bed
And want was dripping till we'd filled the house with it
I tried to turn my circles into plain straight lines
But we both knew inwardly the depth of saying, "I'm fine."
A stable address will not shred your papers
Or bear all the fruit of your unequal labor
What you thought were roots are just fallen dead branches
That break up beneath the rust machine that passes
And the passing of time is the moon pulling seas
And the meaning of "mine" lost its plurality
You're not hoping for signs, you're not begging for "please"
But don't cut through the knots when they untie easily
And churches, barns, and clocktowers, they all have rafter
Where light hangs and swings like ironic laughter
A rope in one hand, a pen in the other
I drop one of them, I think of my mother
I know you feel half, but you look whole to me
I know you feel halved, but you look like a hole to me
