the ones
who can no longer walk
are most keenly aware
that liberation
is achieved
step by step
 

black hole theory

we believe 
that all manner of things 
have arrived 
and will ever after abide 
in an unlit place 
that we know no one will ever see

we hope 
that we might someday come to see 
a stream of matter 
that seems to be flowing steadily
towards this place 
but which we know will have already reached 
its permanent and invisible home 
by the time we see it

we expect 
that through the sight of such a stream 
we'll be able to tell everyone 
where the place is 
so that they can avoid it
 

some comfort

when we were children
we were free to sample whatever we found
with our mouths
we would lick
we would suck
we would savor any object
that might provide comfort

so much of what we do as adults
is motivated by an almost involuntary desire
to recapture what we felt
when we first discovered our thumbs
 

i-10

on desert interstates
everyone squints to read the distant roadsigns
though they only say indio or barstow or
next gas 53 miles
the hope of receiving a message of some significance
never entirely fades