"For they that carried us away captive required of us a song and they that wasted

us required of us mirth,saying sing us one of the songs of Zion"
Psalm 137:3 (KJV)

We kiss the sole of history
and sing an ode to the cast-iron "no return""conduit
as we bethink junctures of old -

The hand of despotism decreed;
lives were to be crushed,here in the dungeon
Our own betrayed us with a Judas kiss
and handed us over to the canines of the masters

The Golden Dragon of the Sun
chases his brother from the night

Through the hallowed heavens they race
It is more like play than it is fight

The scales of each fall from the sky
Silver scratches on ebon’ sheet

Amazing to our humble eyes
This delicious, wondrous treat

Black Dragon of the velvet night
pushes the moon across the sky

Keeps the silver disk from falling
making sure it’s high and dry

Golden Dragon of the burnished day
blows fire and warms the field

I remember your hands

and their journeys

firm and sure

they planed my hips

smoothing thighs

to abandonment

you touched my eyes

asleep

as if you could see

the visions of want

in my dream

rimming my lips of the taste

lingering from my last meal,

(sometimes you)

your hands haunt me

like ghosts of themselves

where once, you would need

to feel the pressure of us

now,

you pick me up like fine china

pressing my hands to your lips

there
out of the blue
soft cuts like runs the rain
crawling
like a naked branch

we flinch in the window
starlight flood
waking in the clearing of
the storm

water falling like thoughts
rapid like breath
the heavy steps of heat in
the walls inching through
the pipes to the heater

samosa coffee in the cup
like warm dreams
the untested kisses
resting in breaths