Warning Open Windows Can Be Hazardous

Muriel
It is time

      Pink Light
      Over the
      Navesink

We darned
The quilts
Of ocean

      Gloss
      Of port wine
      And the floorboards’
      Creak

Terra nova
Est magna

New York’s
Dashing filth
And glimmer
A quarter’s
Short distance

      Sneezing
      Is such beautiful
      Expression

Autumn
Brushing out
The darkness
Of you hair

New mustiness
In a new apartment

      And new
      Freshness

Air gone soft
And heavy
With salt

      Here

      We are
      Here


Windows open
To the sudden
Chill

To the night’s
Quick rush
Out over the water

The startling beam
Of light
Across the bay

Shaking Babel’s
Thin ghost

Setting our teeth
Chattering

Stifling our voices
In our throats

      Here

      It was
      Here

And now
Us