SONGS OF OLD AGE

forgetting who I am
I smell a scentless tulip
hear spiders weaving

arthritic fingers
knit one, purl one, knit two together
her eternal scarf

out every morning
filling her handbag with gravel
busier than ever

big Janey Mac
not born right nor dead right
still laughing – no joke!

glimpsing the cosmos
neighbour woman shouts Jesus!
twitch of the curtain

ex-housewife dreaming -
leaving her skinny body
she dusts the stars

dried up, blind and dumb
bad breath from gaping mouths
the sleep of reason

lost for words
beyond thinking, past doing
turnip head or Buddha?

for a moment there
I slid out of my skin
into the slanting sun

unknown visitors
spattering me with their words
shitting in the void

the walls slide open
riding the big black mare
we breathe the one breath