‘when’
when
like a falling flower-print cotton dress
has dropped its round spoor
in the breathy silence on the bedroom floor
when
like the moment one who has been reading
instructions on propagation
understands and the room blooms with light
when
like an ascending sun-lit valley mist
has eaten its way through all appearances
to substitute its own luminous idea
when
like the salt-wetness breaking bounds in my eyes
in an original participation
I lean over and touch what is there
my hand passing through what I thought was there all along
when
in an instant it is clear all the bridges are down
how can I speak to anybody about that