I
Mass
of preservation
and preference
casts past
a hidden balance
from constant battle
to careful constancy
II
Days' hours slink
like hungryeyed strays
echo with harmonics
of former fullness
sting with aftercrashes
of doorslams
on bare rooms
III
City bus windows
fill with quiet reflections
watching streets slip past
through
their own shadowy fluorescence
hooded eyes muttering
wordless secrets
out inward
building private languages
to describe
a falling fall night.
