because

...the drive was long, the road was paved,

and the sun was unrelenting.

Because the kids made water cake with mud,

because mud seems like a sister to me now,

gooey mud, tar black and sticky.

Because bark is hard,

and the marrow is so deep to touch,

and someone someday

tied a knot around the trunk of me.

Because I lied when I did not need to,

because there will always be moral relapse.

Because the days are shorter,

the cricket hopped away,

and the cicadas cannot not stop their screaming.

Because I do not know why,

and I surely do not know when or even if.

Because in dreams, I still run,

and the water turns into soap,

and the doors do not have hinges.

Because in dreams, my knees are not made of bone,

but of wet leaves and bread.

Because every time I had a chance for yes, I chose no.

And there were no echoes,

even across the worn mountains.

Because the moon just came, early and dull,

retreating to the far corner,

barely willing to be part of the sky.

I say good-night.