two new suitcases

4.

He will want--a sweater for the evening--
milking the cows, feeding the cats
the morning--eggs and toast
the routine breaking apart

She lived in----------
THIS IS A JAIL--I want to---
freedom of movement

It is a grazy day--
on the coast, the clouds condense
red sliding, white shudders

He was there for so long,
then gone---
the soft-sided bags expand, take on new forms
wandering in the forest, alone


5.

Open on the bed--collecting cast-aways
searching the familiar--
his name always on the surface,
the air, motionless, afraid.

Your children becom-- strangers
that night, twenty years ago, when he---------
keys falling from hands
blank stare

You are going inward, inhabiting----
this body, never comforted
you live--------?
the sight brings joy, immediate
coming from far away

this place, unfamiliar