things i understand

Things I understand include 

That where I ought to be 

Is not among the places where

Some wish to find me waiting

Not the mountains as when 

I was twelve and loved for the 

First time, or the old mission 

Where the pond is choked with weeds like twine

And placid though in its uncharted

Depths there are those that are alive.

Not in the dark and mirrored bedroom of a jaundiced 

Mind or in a sparse and greying shower counting tiles

Things I understand include 

The straining lung of lust

The disappointment of the miscarried

Love that was never meant to live

The divide as palpable as 

Thick wool felt --one can feel

The disparity-- unrolled between

Eyes that cannot care

And the eyes that do see

And once or twice I've known 

A day 

When all seemed new to me

Held in the hand of

Things I understand

Simple painful and 

Sweet