slides in time (a poem)

some faces slide in time
overloading ages in the same
moment of observation
collapsing to foundations
shifting to their children
to their parents on and on
the labels that are relative
to birth or death or both
listed simultaneously
indiscreet and broadcasting
yesterday's formation
and tomorrow's formation

Self-Portrait (a poem)

The Hatfield Clan 1897
family photo
men hold firearms

a feeling of revulsion
an animal past so human
a king smiling with a sword


shall I then be pictured naked
without muscle, sinew, bone

hang a landscape
with a mountain
with a forest
grain, waves, amber


can we find a phenotype
distinct from DNA
when we ask the questions backwards
for answers inside us

with the pots and all the kettles
cupboards, mantles both are bare