there is absolution

in the unexpected coolness
of a sheet_____the whispering
of lovelorn cicadas changing

form as life does—
_____in one room after
another_____in husks of cocoon

_____behind doors of eyelid,
forehead, lip_____hidden
by curtains of lashes

_____beads of days prayed one
by one, worried smooth
in the fingers of time

_____again_____and_____again
the unleavened moon dissolving
on night’s repentant tongue

healing psalms sung
by rain_____wind_____breath
by the impulsive swish

of the sleepy hair of a lover,
_____the rush of a silk dress,
a paper bag dancing in air’s arms