Equations
My white cloth by candlelight is your white cloth by candlelight
I remember a meal the covenant once served me
My violin is your violin
The rain of the land in its season
Witness, set out
I rub the door post where the mezuzah held its prayer
A prayer is a tiny camera
My former rain is your latter rain
My latter rain is your former rain
My white breath with your white breath
So, our days may be multiplied
At childhood's gate, a snake
In the act of swallowing
A toad, legs first
Transfixed, we watch until
The one looks out of the other's mouth
Where we go the covenant follows
We begin to see it has intentions for us
Lee Sharkey
Walking Backwards
Tupelo Press
Copyright © 2017 by Lee Sharkey
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission