ACCOUNT OF MY DAYS
Sequence: 4
SEEN FROM A DISTANCE
the poems he has forgotten
the work he has not done
the times he stayed in the other room
defiance as the tailend of a gesture of revulsion
from shame
life lived in a sense of rescuing
others from their disasters
while his own kept burning
behind him falling down flooding
compassion as an extension of wreckage
he found an odd straight line to walk
by looking in a mirror
attempted to exercise control
by saving his shoes till
they were falling apart when he heard
the flapping he knew
the length of his stride when
the water came through
he was satisfied with his immersion in the world
not saying this right
effort not always complete
something left behind for others to use
is his I mean was given away