Four Poems

*it seeks out from a quiver*

out of
the obvious
alligators,

radiant,
wind-giddy
arrowheads

rise so
startled
against
a muffled
mockery

—how wide
the good I know—

that flips
in the terrain
blur the paths

and soak
into February

*it is what has been intoned*

gone ahead

to goodbye of shadow

against brighter grays

with brushstrokes

move thru it

or, and far, toward

dusk-lit hands

at the frame of

awakening wise representatives of

dancing

*it sits as if a*
—for astronomer Mark Seibert of the Observatories
of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
in Pasadena, California

recycling a reclining Buddha—Cetus/Sphinx hidden niches—
empty eternal tombs—far-lit Arlington air: behind Mira.

moist soil—stolen stones—storm-blast memories—excess-
ories—fog-dimmed flags—dollar appearances: behind Mira

there’s a star.

ghostly gazes linger—endless timepieces—the onyx inbox—
distant yellow reaches—along the mind goes: behind Mira

there’s a star with a tail.

b/w what’s beset by impediments most intense—commercial
coal—a chorus for August—Picasso apropos—the eventual

childhood: behind Mira there’s a star with a tail in the tail.

ev’ry ray emitted splinters—cuckoo for sudoku—a chime
machine—monsoonal flooding—gambling scandals: behind

Mira there’s a star with a tail in the tail of the Whale.

*it often sounds*

wintriness,

a mist
pierced

by composition.

toward a landscape
to express,

a menagerie
of calligrammes,

individuals,

dismounting from clouds.

dynamic
in observable bursts,

silent in splendor,

yet filling a point
with cold.

why eyes
need these

unknown, but
grateful, now, for such

witness,

and, likewise, for
the frostworks

appealing to
the window

between the outside
and the same reason

why these
eyes need.

Paul Siegell is the author of Poemergency Room (Otoliths Books, 2008) and the e-chap J∆M> (ungovernable press, 2008), and is the "parking lot attendant" over at ReVeLeR @ eYeLeVeL and you can visit him at paulsiegell.blogspot.com. He is a staff editor at Painted Bride Quarterly, and has contributed to The American Poetry Review, MiPO, BlazeVOX, Coconut and other fine journals. HEADS UP/COMING SUMMER '09: Paul's new book, jambandbootleg.