John Curl

John Curl (redcoral@jps.net)is the author of six volumes of poetry,

including Decade, Columbus in the Bay of Pigs and Tidal News. He's

published widely in magazines and periodicals.

YOUR LOVER'S NECK

you touch your lover's neck

beneath a willow heavy with wind;

crystals slide into each other but

the cop's hand is grasping your shoulder;

they drag you into the interrogation room

when at the galactic center

your sweetheart slips into something

a little more comfortable,

you are inspired by the skin

of an apricot and escape together

on a winged deer through the forest

BETWEEN

mud oozes between your toes

you notice a twig catch

on a mossy rock in a backwhisper

of the current as your landlord's face

appears in the drenching rain,

you grasp for the fire opal but

it vanishes, all prisoners for

crimes against property are released,

a green-tailed bird alights on your lover

in bed you pull down the covers and climb

along the edge of tomorrow

into a grove of ferns

John Curl