100 Short Poems
House Fire
As if it knows no natural limits
smoke occupies the vacant house.
Emblematic of the flames flickering at first,
heat follows behind increasing explosively
until the house becomes a furnace.
Closed church
The pews all wear a coat of dust.
In the loft, darkness drapes the organ's gilt.
The stained glass dedications in a foreign language
Are inscrutable to the visitor's eyes
As if none are left who can read them.