On this country deck in September
beside two tiny fallen pine cones,
I unfold into cobra posture

limbs and skin stretching
supine beneath the sun
a sense of peace spreads over
my pose of the corpse

a windrush in the aspen tops
intermittent outdoor chimes
then a hammer on a plank

my audience --boxed begonias
their leaves in autumn matching
the petals’ reds

sunlight streaks
across the deck floor slabs
between shadows

09/20/2003