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THE KISS OF DIFFERENCE

peter schwartz


I've fathered too many doubts
to ever let these ghost-children go
they cling to my neck like unkempt
yesterdays; each of them

has known the hard burning
of foxholes beneath a warehouse
moon taking stock of these
dog-eared days

meanwhile my almost
biblical need for enchantment
suffers beneath a white mask
absorbing gravity's

inevitable meltdowns; each
represents another stroke of
darkness; dwindling collateral
finally reaching back

into its bones
for that old
orphan kiss.



(c) 2008 by Peter Schwartz