Dwelling Pattern

This poem won Peoples Choice in 2-Day Poem Contest 2019

our home will have a basement , an

attic & two floors pleated into        an

upper & a lower .  we will weave in a

lace trimmed lattice & taffeta win-

dows  ,  they will be left open to an

enfolded infinity . we will forge our-

selves in emphatic gnathic       cer-

tainty , that is to say , scissor        our-

selves a way to let out a little            at

the seams  & at the same time    let in

black snakes , their serpentine dark-

ness coiled in our underground ab-

dominal cavities , a gnawing    feeling

that tells us to find a way out . our

hemmed in sages           will suggest

we install sequins , a skylight even &

gorge ourselves  instead on visions of

iridescence ,    a little more radiance

than we can handle ,  a cluster of

moths’ wings & seashells , such that

we reinhabit our organic hollows  ,  

those ensorcelled pockets lined with

velour  , soft   interiors where we can

sometimes be ourselves , safe eyelets                   

left for cufflinks  .  in the attic a

windup ballerina dances when you

open the box  ,  in the basement        a

dusted rosebud toboggan is  mounted

on the wall next to an old        photo-

graph of you by the Esquimalt , the

aperture robbing something of your

soul when it was taken , the place   

you will have returned to   often to

watch the pickerel &        cutthroat

trout swim through frayed ribbons of  

eelgrass  ,  as if          there were no

windows  & not         a stitch                   

of  tomorrow          

   indwelling                                  our                                                

bellies