Earthscape artwork by Andres Amador
The Shape of Things
Is it so strange to wonder at your own god-
like powers to change the shape of things,
invisible things like Anger and Longing?to imagine disputes caged in only your mind,
write them down and breathe life into them,
build a city tooth and nail where they may roam,
then dismantle that world's brittle infrastructure?how newspapers build stories you can see
and toss in a fire to watch disappear—
how like a sponge you hold those stories
saturated heavy with Tragedy and Pride,
how they alight gold in the licking flames
then crumble like a cremating body—
how the ashes settle in the silent dark
until swept up in a sudden gust of wind
or nudged by a gentle breath, a whisper
from a ghost, a voice like someone
you once knew, hushing your name.
