Five times Three
by Jerry Clifford
Fresh snow on a sunny morning
Squinting with one eye closed
Driving in a humid car with the window down head outside
Past a causeway overcome by sweet pungent tidal waters
Intoxicate
Black liquorice stuck between my teeth
I work loose with my tongue and smile
Scratching the chin of my little cat
Belly as soft as velvet
Falling to sleep on a balmy summer�s eve
To the thunder of waves crashing against the beach in sets
Some bigger than others
From a tropical peak staring East into the Sound wondering at the sublime
Is it real? Waters so blue, infinite in beauty
From under bed covers trapped emissions so acrid
The cat runs from the room and so I laugh
Cough syrup only one teaspoon at a time
Trying to remove a sauce pan cover with out a holder
I curse like a sailor
Sirens and horns in crowded city streets
On the 15th floor feeling removed I try to ignore
Disoriented in the dark smacking into furniture
Returning to bed after a visit to the bathroom
Coming home from playing outside
Opening the front door and discovering
We are having Brussels sprouts for supper
The bottom of a hot fudge Sunday
Sweet liquid pleasure
Squishing mud between my fingers
The scream of a hawk circling higher and higher
By the side of a mountain can it see me?
