Dragon

Dragon

I thought I will awaken.
And when I do, the rooftops
will be above me.
Those we swooped over.

Rolling, hugging my pillow
everything would make sense.
Fall into another adventure
perhaps -- But.

Why is this blood
The credits would roll now.
dripping from where I pinched
my arm?

Upon these green scales.
And the houses. The village.
We are so above everything
as lightning flashes.

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009

Poof

Poof

"The gist" is an interesting phrase.
Gist. What people mean is, Hey! The
crux of the matter, or The point is,
etc. Within the superfluity, lies this.
Or, What granny's really sayin' is...

So, forgive my confusion. Surely tonight
when Cherise brought that third Collins
and you said I am done painting you
Austin, you didn't mean, you didn't mean,
what I mean is, you were not saying --

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009

Ten and Shorter

Ten and Shorter

Is it wrong for us to be in love?
I mean, you're taller and eleven.
I'm ten and shorter.

That first dinner I guessed it.
Your mother had to bring you.
My father, me.

Day after day we're on our own.
Well, when school's out
and they work.

I have never been happier.
One day I will tell you.
But -- not today.

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009

Necessary

Necessary

You want to know the very thing
I don't. And so, when I back away
don't get closer. Have you never
read a single psychology book
or article? Something advising
that the defensive devices of the
average human evolved because
they were necessary?

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009

The Gentle Hug

The Gentle Hug

Ten years on Dad, I feel again the strength.
The weakness around my neck. Power of
the gentle hug. The water in the corner of
your eye. What I would give now to see it
reflect
the bales of hay, or the perch caught.
The spoon in the tea, the oil changed,
the ghost seen, the garden gardened,
or Helen discovered.

The phone answered. The clink of you
dropping screws into a jar labelled "screws".
Re-aligning that pendulum. Once I awoke
in the night. At the end of the hallway
I saw you cracking hazelnuts as though
only the snow falling outside knew
neither of us were sleeping.

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009

He or I

He or I

The world, life, affords us a few.
But more likely, less. One.
One that becomes half a poem's
title. That person you hope dies
after you do.

You could not bear it, the loss.
In utter selfishness, you wish grief
upon him. May the burden of
eulogy, be his. Even then,
make it quick.

We dragged nothing in life further
than it could go. Don't change that.
Please? No hearing ear would discern
the subtleties. When only what was,
is.

c. Ciprianoword, Inc. 2009

Directions

Directions

I like the way there was that void under the floor mat
for empty beer bottle placement, and the launching
of other detritus. Your Valiant was a sturdy vehicle.
Built for adventure. Hell, it was true to its name.

Brian, do you remember the McDonald's Drive-Thru
on a wintry south Albert night? You recited an army
sized order as I folded the back license plate in half.
Handing me the bag of burgers, you floored it.

But we floundered on a patch of ice -- the car slapping
the wall as I yelled at Jesus. Then [miracle] we were off.
North as Alaska. And I laughed so hard the floor mat
was gone. White dotted lines, zipping past that hole.

More to the right! More to the right!

c. Ciprianowords, Inc. 2009