More Repairs

In a house

of his American ancestors

going out of the comfort

to continue on his way

Pahn inspects the inherited dwelling

of white wood

with green trim

needing paint

                  cleaning

                          minor repairs

He finds a section of the walls

where the boards

            have deteriorated

                                              where leaves and water                              

                           have fallen inside the walls

He considers the mending

[If he replaces only the worn wood

the detritus will remain

inside

rotting

with the wood lice]

Grandpa Zeyeuss’ design

Doesn’t seem very well

but he supposes it will do

if kept in constant repair

In a Labyrinthine House

.

In a drywall                                                                                     
house of business                                                                  
   walking from the kitchen    into the receiving room
finding the hidden door
ajar

he climbs the new stairway
                                                       with the voices of inspection
anticipated
close behind
                                                       and it is clear
they will find their way

Speaking to Aiks                            
though she has
                                                       no particular interest
he tells her of another chamber
better hidden
at the bottom of the house                                                            
 
                                                           Among the beams and studs
                                                         webs         and dust
workbenches and beds
he explores
                                                                                           while Aiks
lies into the covers                                                
her bare shoulders showing
asking questions

There are many old tools here
                                     and relocated windows      which look
                                                   into his old neighborhood
                                                    and the uneasiness
                                                           with social clutter

And these windows are oriented
into a further exit
that opens
                           on a workshop     in a turn of the century
back street           And all the while
                                             that Pahn’s gaze is wandering
in this wooden maze

Egairia                                                                     
at a distance                                                                      
in the quiet of nature                                                                   
is walking                                                                       
and rowing                                                                       
over                                                                       
the lake and fields                        

seeds filtering from her fingers                      
like inspiration                   

sewing a blanket of blue                                         
salvia                                      
into the grass and reeds                                         

her hands sometimes                          
checking the mats of algae                          
that cover                           
the concealed water                          

and sometimes                         
peering in                                                          .

.

A Love Nest

In a V.W. bus

by a beach

aware of distant surfers

the side door open to the cool

humid air

sensing the texture

of the skin of her breasts

in his lap

repeatedly reaching

from awkwardness

and uncertainty

Pahn is allowed

but not welcomed

…

Walking around gravel

parking lots             utility roads of clay

                        sprinkler pipes

                        a tool barn

the edge of the vineyard

a mutable woman is with him

providing a flow of words

and glances            occasional touch

fading in and out of wife

and friend

       and stranger

Pahn has come to work    to water the plants

                        remembering only late

                        that it is a holiday

                        and Yaohwa

                        would have watered

                        already

                        and would wonder

                        why Pahn is here

But Pahn is doing

a different kind

of irrigation

Leaving the hoses

he goes with the woman

into vines

to lie in the grass

                        looking for comfort

                        and privacy

…

                                      Now they are coasting down

                        the pre-Columbian road

                                    at the edge of speed

                               the farmland perched

                    above the canyons

                         of Andean proportions

the green

of tropical rain

At the end of their options

                                                  is a covered slide

                                              like a crooked bridge

                     where children

           of ancient Mexico

                                                once played                                                 

                        (Pahn is shocked                                                               

                                    that this history has no monument                       

                                    no plaque                                                      

                        degrading into the soil                                               

                                    of private property)                                          

                                Unwilling                                             

                 to give up

                                                the potential sex                                   

                                           he searches                                                    

for the hole in the ground                          

                             where the children                                

                                    would have played                         

                                                they make forts                       

                                                                           and nests                                    

                                                                     and places to hide                                                                                        

                                    Reaching                                         

                        into the earth                                    

                              among the gopher mounds

                        he finds a space                               

                                    like a bunker                       

                        where he could lie                
                                                    with the mutable woman

                           unseen            

                                                to make love                

                                                             But the time has passed

The White House

Pahn has gone back east again

to the capitol

He is in a courtroom       

     The judge is Anthony Hopkins

                 Pahn is annoyed with the proceedings

                    and expresses his opinion

The judge tells him                  

                        that his opinion is not wanted

Pahn says something rude                        

and steps out

                 into an opulent room

                   of colonial furniture

                              polished

                                         and rounded

Pahn is looking for a stair         

He climbs one flight

           expecting to go higher

                     but comes to a dead-end

realizing

                               that there are only two stories

He returns to the opulent room

to find another passage

He descends                               

and climbs again

                 to a hall full of children

                                                and scooters

They are happy                        

        and noisy 

riding in every direction at there play        

           watched over                

by a teacher

The hall leads outside            

   to the back grounds           

     not so well kept                

       like a vacant lot        

                      or waste area

                        Pahn climbs the hill                                            

   and looks back               

                            beyond the playing children

          wondering       

                  at the color and condition

                of the White House

                                    green as a pine tree

                                           the old boards warped

He has gotten a job there now  

An old man     

shows him to his room

They go into the far end

                              of the house     

                        like a tenement

                                                                        the servants quarters

                        sagging off

                        toward the river

They go onto the roof           

Here the old man sets down Pahn’s bags

                                               

He tells Pahn   

                                             that it will be covered with tarps

                                 to make a shelter

explaining        

                                            that this is where the artists live

A Grasp of Words

.

In bed
in a garden
among
the permanent plants
and the light shade of young
trees

the healthy stems
increase
and crowd

Swaths
of dreams
and waking
in the sunlight
dry and fade
leaving
the green and living
remnants
of metaphors and sense
only in the shady
and wet places
as the garden
is shown to Egairia
                                            It is a poor translation
 
                                                             fragments 
                                                                        of his meaning
 
                                           striving to split open 
                                                                        for her
 
                       spilling his stories 
                                                         from sleep

.

.