but instead of water pouring into the mold

imagine space pushing the cloth into its grey valleys—

the bottom of the ocean is lighter than this room—

the grey arms reach for something

a strand of smoke slips from a pair of lips, drifts to the floor

a pearl necklace falling into the water

understanding the ancients

An airplane buzzed overhead, a dozen or so seagulls pecked around my feet, a man wearing a turban skated by— and for one moment you seemed to converge with all of it.

palimpsest

a woman slips through the long cattails then pushes off from the bank towards the center of the pond