gains

Liquid faces behind each minute 
An unexpected friend at the door, 

The water of birds gathers around the house. 
Happiness is theirs: they are birds.

A bird cannot be happy, only birds! Can be happy
Receding from the dead and their roses. 

The bark of a lonely dog 
Or a bent sob, self-smothering, 
Maybe I will see another face. 

 An instant, we seize 
The wave needs the arm of a starfish 
for an instant

Then, contracting regret, we retch. 
Unable to ride contact. We wretched- 

Perpetually- but everything is possible in the morning-