The day demands

so much

from us

that we must make

our own demands

of the day

lines, that can’t get longer

schedules, running shorter

time, that doesn’t forgive

Orders,

and we wonder…

What’s wrong with giving them?

We need new ways

literature can lead the way

and not every story

is meant to be read.

Sacred places

make no demands

like a lake that loves to be looked at

by one man

or the corners of the world

where nobody goes

I demand

a library book

not checked-out

since 1972.

There’s fuel

we find

when we’ve been empty for years

it’s art and passion and words that work

filling our deepest dread

with fire

that warms us

in the coldest regions

of a ridiculous world.