send me away to where there's
cobblestone streets and sepia skies,
where promises become miracles of eternity,
and broken hearts are fairy tales.

i don't want to know this sour burning
in the place within my stomach
where it feels like my heart dropped
when this darkest revelation was uncovered.

there is no merciful escape in dreams,
for all my fears manifest in images
that awake me with moist pillow,
and heavy terror of what dawn will bring.

Some taboos in our tradition reveal
Not mere structures of steps and rites
In burial observances, crowning a king
Or passages in marriages and successions
But potent pillars of tacit family ties

The slaughtered cow or goat has rules
Household of the first son takes the head
The waist is sent to his maternal origin
The legs with contrariety attached
Like what the owl and the rabbit say:

CLICHES workshop: It only comes once

It's all good<
Until you hurt some one
Keep it on the down low<
It’s best they don’t find out
It ain't nothing but a chicken wing<
When I look at the scheme of things

I am truly
Hot to trot<
To see what comes of this
A mile a minute<
You run your mouth
To many cooks spoil the broth<
Then plans fall apart
Silence is golden<
Just keep your trap shut

uncovered and revealed
the revelation untwined
the false dawning of all
the word submerged

held at the edge
like a frightened wave
like aurora sweeping
I seek you
I see you

in the falling winter rains
in the dark river mane
I hear you whisper my name
where my heart you claimed

desire you said was a cutting flame
where you would remove the chains
where the gate called fame
would remove the opulence of
innocence like a smashed chalice