[she stands by a sign]

she stands by a sign

that keeps getting taller

each new height is named

after an animal

wolf, mule deer, elk, moose

a moose could be her dance partner

she is nearly as tall

as the next great mystery

it’s just a trick of the late sun

but her body rains violet arrows

through a crack in my glasses

she is very patient with me

she knows which things have nutrients

and points them out

there is a seed pearl made of titanium

drifting close to her heart

but it doesn’t set off metal detectors

it is like a baby space probe

and she is like a stretch of universe

with a good mix of galaxy shapes

i ask her, is your body also named ruth

and she says, no it is named james

and visited me in a dream once

the two of them were in a school hallway

james didn’t have boobs or the same face

but i knew they were me, ruth says

because they wore my favorite jeans

with a hole in the knee but

the jeans were perfect like in the past

i believe her no problem

it is easy to believe in ruth

she knows when things are kindred

and she knows where to look

to find proof

[in a dream i was / wearing denim overalls]

in a dream i was

wearing denim overalls

and rolling the cuffs up

in exalted light

chessie and i

wandered ikea

through diminished

parables of blond

fiberboard and blue

gingham until we saw

something unnamable

knitted and slung

from a coat peg

it was like a hat

but with a parasitic twin

it was like a mitten

but five beers in

we threw our arms in the air

and gave up

later i was petting

a tortoiseshell cat

and found an eye

on her back right paw

things were beginning

to fall into place