we are up to our elbows
and you saunter in
paper deep
you just nod
and smile your smile
while we share our teeth
with all the needy children
breaking their gums
on second hand cans

stranger at the tv screen
stranger on the street
take your photo glances
and leave

I crawl back through your opening doors
And count the days with new numbers.

Sometimes you forget
That you are just the sum of
Steam and dead leaves
Rustling wet warmth
Revelling in the split-second

Change is the aftermath of the avalanche

No more running from your face in dreams
No more hiding in the looking glass
Spring came a long time ago
But...

The stars fell from the sky
To change your mind

It takes at least four verses
To transform thought into sense
Not this two and a half stanza dribble
That ricochettes into stray eyes
But runs out of breath before it's done
These half-strangled meanderings
Unfit for the rudest beggar
Litter pavements and alleyways
Like mumbled promises.

Sorry about the mess
We got a bit carried away
And furniture is replaceable
Right?

To turn and face a new direction
To pick a different pebble off the path
To place bootheels in a different puddle
A change
A not going back