I love how they can imitate
A water lily
I love the word tutu
Especially when they are purple
And look like lilac blossoms
I love their Chinese shoes
Even when they walk on air
To imitate a pear tree
In blossom
I love how the music that coaxes them
Is just another excuse for silence
As they flutter toward
A wheat field free from pain & gravity
In the shape of a rose
Griselda from Russia was my favorite
Her black fingernail polish
Smelling like ripe bananas
She painted the glass cover
Of her fake birthday present Rolex Gold
Whispering “I have always want to escape from time”
John McKernan is now a retired comma herder He lives – mostly – in West Virginia where he edits ABZ Press. His most recent book is a selected poems Resurrection of the Dust