1

Waist-up in ruins

of a house with its roof
removed, our heads touched
the sky, off-center,
where birds flew
the black
of their backs
gave proof
of bellies’
white concealment.

2

In slow mosaic motion

with a mouth full of rocks
I decapitated you
& saw the way
yr head fell
east
toward the ancient arch
at an entrance
Hercules himself
could not protect.

3

How does a city

de-compose?
From the top-down
we have seen
the roofs go first
fragile as they were
glancing
left on-
to in-expressible
particulars.

4

& the smell was the smell

of smoke & color
the warmth of cooking
fires lit
before evening’s call to prayer.
& we died
happily, after all,
as it is written:
“God guards over
the acephalous.”
not that 
tohu ve-
tohu with               out
waiting
“to be”
wandering
infinite
skin
over shade;
is finity
finally
the secret
skin of earth?
question answers
question
marks erasure
marks
structure as erasure
erases
strict skin stretches
between shade.
Not this
time
w/ clock
’s calloused hands—
not that river’s
skin
over this.

Originally published in White Wall Review 40 (2016)