Grace and all that

It was like being pulled apart by gravity -

as if the g-forces began to shred and shake

us away from each other and we were no

longer standing on solidest ground.

I didn't know then that birds fly

so awkwardly in their adolescent stages,

that their wings, pinioned like a butterfly

to a corkboard, take such time to spread

and beat free. I guess it was something

eternal that brought forth freedom,

so why do I worry about it so much?

Where is the lyric of purest simplicity

that will set me apart from the others.

My undergrounding scans have brought me

to a place of heightened observance,

as if the whole human race could be revealed

to me in the touch of a hand to a forehead,

or the forgetful act of pressing against

a stranger in a crowded subway car. Simple

simple melodies along a flat world.