5. bowls and jars

5. bowls and jars
A.
I have everything
I have nothing to steal
I have nothing
I have nothing to steal
steal my bowl
and the space remains
and it isn’t my bowl
and it isn’t your bowl
but there is a bowl
and it isn’t red
and it isn’t clay
there isn’t a bowl
and it’s glazed red
and it’s sturdy clay
there is a nest
there isn’t a bird
there is a bird
making a nest
there is a tree
and in the bowl of
the lowest bower
is a nest

B.
a cluttered bunch of meat.
that's how I'm moving
today. What's inside?

when I was a child
everything was encompassed.
there wasn't such a thing
as hollow. everything had gears.

I was asked as an adult:
what is the mechanism?
that drug--how does it work?
that piano--how does it play?

now I recognize empty.
things have to be
beat on to make their noises.
things are made.
things are cleaned.
things are tuned.
things are filled.

we make them contain.

I was offered
the gift of a jar.
what does it contain?
every dog. every man.
some ashes. some men

#weeklypoemandpic