Curriculum Vitae
        And what does it hear?
        Wiskawa Szymborska

What is required?
Unattached crumpled pages
gathering dust beneath my desk.

The address is:
a rock where I sat by the creek;
a chair and coffee-stained table;
a parking lot outside of town.
Mountains, deserts, oceans and an endless stream of cities
dated to here by
a summer I remember
or sometime after our 1st or 2nd meeting.

I married the madness from other voices,
but love comes only
in occasional bursts.
And the children I’ve imagined
are still unborn,
restless...and kicking on the pages I have left.

I’ve understood and forgotten.
I’ve paused at the edge and jumped.
I’ve slept and lost track of the stars.
I’ve lied and stared back at the sun.

My references could come from anyone.
And I know them all when we meet.

There is a snapshot included
(though you may hardly see my face).
Beneath the rumble of machines,
is this factory of words.

r berk
Moab, 1996