symbols of symbols (1988)

in spring i go out into the garden
with a wheelbarrow of fresh words:
texture, nurture, tread, harvest

my car has broken down so i tow it
over to a mechanic using a chain of words:
together, eat, melt, martyr

going out into the harsh sun of the equator
i insist my children wear a bonnet of
words: pool, freckle, yang, augment

i write a poem intending it to work
on playing: shuffle, gaia, smile, rot

beware the symbols of symbols 
forgotten, beware
the brain, hour sun




1989 Lawrence, Ks.