The death of poets
and the slaughter of elephants
on my mind today
100 a day...for trinkets

The Atlantic Ocean, visible
from my writing room,
does not care.

Does the ocean have any sort of
consciousness at all? After all
it has such a vast and important
history of this/on this water planet.

Do the ions and chemicals, vapors
and such have an intelligence/
sense memory/an alternative reality
to speak of, that we, human organisms
are not even remotely intuitive enough
to understand?

Can indiginous peoples ­- shamans or
high priestesses give me an answer?
What about dolphins? What about Yetis,
listening so high in the snow,
can they converse with the universe?
Understand universal truth?

What about poets?
Although they appear to be all dead,
or dying only ending up in the Times
when they go. This inquiry shall
remain wrapped in mystery
upon mystery. For time immorial,
for the time being.

March 2014