As/Is







9.13.2004


she stiffens

she stiffens /
she brittles / her face
lines sharpen / speech
shrills / even her pillow
turns crisp / her eyes now
close un-
gently / if and
when she sleeps /
her breathing becomes
punctuation / endpoints
rather than breaths /
appear / the house
contains measure
after measure of
staccato / point
by point with no
connection / no
legato