Compos Mentis

Saint Paul, 29 December 2004

Sub-zero wood-splitting, a sinewy elm detonates

From eye-hand salvos that disintegrate them

Like the crack of the maul, the mind is a big-hearted tyrant

In high hat and tails, the ringmaster of logic

Motions for the audience to join him in the ring

Through dry eye sockets, the autocrats of involuntary

Abandon the wires dedicated to now slack-jointed limbs

In half-witted defiance, the Kaiser of consciousness flees like

An arctic cold-snap whistles in the eaves of a detached garage

Yet through a devil-may-care skate over the black ice of senility

Our minds release a slow-drip that colors each vibrating string

Like Aurora Borealis showcasing our favorite constellation