*

I've stopped thinking in words

by Scott Kurtz

I've stopped thinking in words
instead; a flash of colour;
a gesture; bare branches
against a winter sky.

Now I am riding a bike
now I am drinking milk
now I am crying in sobs
that make my ribs hurt for days
Now and again, my stomach aches
and I bite into an apple
But mostly I am lost inside

* * *

I've stopped thinking in words
that make my head spin
and fill me with romantic notions
In fact, I've stopped my feelings
alltogetherallatonce
and I can see so much more clearly
piecing together random abstractions
into a coherent whole.

But I cannot remember
how to draw outside the lines,
or the shape of your lips.

* * *

I've stopped thinking in words
and sometimes I feel you smile
but your rage makes
your face a screaming blur
Orange like the sun in drawings
head tilted to one side
eyes bent to the other

Now you are shifting into neutral
now you are sprawled on a quilt
naming the stars;
Bare branches against a winter sky.

* * *

I've stopped thinking in words
and when I am driving I apologize
to the street, who hardly understands
that the rain makes it more
than a street
Could ever be without rain.

Now I am addressing a postcard
and now my limbs feel nothing
I am swimming in a cold stream
bare and dry,
branches; winter sky.