Rabbit Room day ten: Authentic

just be authentic
your “authentic self”
find your authentic voice
 
let the poem be proof
frame the evidence
with words
 
they will issue
a certificate of authenticity
if you keep at it
 
keep chipping away at meaning
digging into origins
facts and not facts
 
here in the poem
the poet exercises authority
imposes order on the world
 
imposes order on words
that just keep wriggling
a hook in the lip
 
the question is
whether this poem can be trusted
but then is anything ever true?
 
we tell lies
to tell the truth
write them down as proof

Rabbit Room day nine: Conversation

we talk so much
but i want to get to the bone of things.
let’s walk it back

back to the place one lives
or dwells. then dwell richly.
attend to how you conduct yourself
in this world of words or the next

make each word monastic,
singular. then house them together

give them purpose in order
to break a silence

to abide. to frequent.
to twist and bend in the company
of friends. like dance.

and so which direction
do we turn? and how will 

our words cause us to bend?

Rabbit Room day eight: Vulnerable

how long do we bear the wound
given us by a brother?
what garnishes or bedazzlements
do we use to cover it?

are we all born roughly innocent,
or brave without reason?
how long does it take
until we recognize ourselves?

i was once dared to put my hand
in an animal’s mouth.
i did it, but feared
its indeterminacy.

do we face the possibility –
that those we might love most
might possibly wound us most –
and exercise courage?

and how, like our friends;
and how, like our enemies,
we prepare ourselves for pain
and hope that we find joy.

Rabbit Room day seven: Hospitality

you are welcome here
and so we began
 
share a meal with me
borrow my clothes
 
let time be our friend
it’s okay if you’re tired
 
there’s no need for secrets
so let us reason together
 
join me; let’s go dancing
all the world is music
 
this is my flesh; this, my blood
let us share everything
 
let us be one spirit
let us be one body
 
let us make each other
our home and rest

Rabbit Room day six: Form Friday

the way you said yes. always that
song of skin on skin. how joy
ascends. the mouth opens wide
to taste the moment. to thank
God for this exchange of flesh.
who knows our brokenness? who
wipes our tears away? she thought
his words could be trusted. caught his
eyes and found it all too much.