On the train, things seen once:

Egret, statue of the marsh border

Symbol of me in the truss

—

There is the life I live

There is the man with the swollen leg
whimpering through the subway

There is the building of brick and metal, covered in grime

—

The wall is a bare pastel of irrelevant color:
somewhere the math is wrong.
I have forgotten where to construct the metaphor.

—

The last time I remember peace I was by the ocean.

I was not at peace, but I saw it. It was simply
a movement in the harbor, the boats and planes in their
routes through the Boston harbor
the drunk people in their yachts shouting
the musicians roaring by the hotel
the dogs with short legs pulled along
the ladybugs in the cobblestone cracks and
the mosquitoes biting at the ankles

And none of us were at peace, and the harbor was at peace.

✤