Each memory is its own
discreet and distinct
Each a singular world
in an idiosyncratic solar system
An overflowing ashtray a stone cat
a glass of scotch a corncob pipe
The living face of a dead lover frozen in B&W
on an old fitness pass long ago expired
A dogeared paperback on Tilopa’s song of mahamudra
Coming across a forgotten note in a half finished book
Hastily scribbled phone number on a napkin
in a pocket of jeans that no longer fit
Cigar wrappers in the pocket of your father’s blazer
A pineapple doily where a candle melted
staining a rainbow into the cotton thread
The ghost smell of temple incense
remnants of agar and sandalwoods
The faint smell of perfume on a handkercheif
found in a discarded change purse
Underlining and marginal notes
in a handed down copy of Leaves of Grass
each fragments an accidental key
From The Desire Line: memory & impermanence (Rebel Satori Press, 2017)