Mortar and Pestle, Stone on Stone, Circa 2nd Century CE
how our distant ancestors
first learned to grind with their teeth
how we have so many words
for the act of sifting one thing
from another
sift, sieve, sort, strain
how many of these words
are gentle and soft
in our mouths
thresh, sever, sunder, winnow
how many of these words
we have sifted
into new meanings
comb, fathom, riddle, garble
how flint on stone
these generations of sharp edges
were necessary
to teach wood and stone
how to be smooth
how to be soft and gentle
how much more we have to learn
from sand and rivers
The Coat of Many Colors
to the birds and bees
the magnetosphere
a wispy blue line
guides them home
blind faith in our proprioception
even our fingertips can feel
molecules our eyes cannot see
magnets. how do they work?
all the lightning in our brains
can’t even power a lightbulb
our world a series of still images
woven together
by a six-pound lump of soggy bacon
hallucinating in the dark
i used to get high and watch old cartoons
spongebob and patrick pole dancing
on a pride parade of fish hooks
worms with glitter for their blood
mermaids with hooks for a tail
frayed, microplastic mini-skirts
noisome, every color of a rainbow
only the fish and sharks can see
do you ever think about that?
how much beauty we have made
with only seven colors?
they say our skin and flowers
have hidden patterns
visible only to birds and bees
bring your hands closer
touch me gently
i know you can’t see it
but can you feel it?