The teacher sits with eyes closed.
When you play chess alone it’s always your move.
I’m in the last row with a firefly in the palm of my hand.
The girl with red braids, who saw the girl with red braids?
—
Do you believe in something truer than truth?
Do you prick your ears even when you know damn well no one is coming?
Does that explain the lines on your forehead?
Your invisible friend, what happened to her?
—
The rushing wind slides to a stop to listen.
The prisoner opens the thick dictionary lying on his knees.
The floor is cold and his feet are bare.
A chew-toy of the gods, is that him?
—
Do you stare and stare at every black windowpane
As if it were a photo of your unsmiling parents?
Are you homesick for the house of cards?
The sad late-night cough, is it yours?
— Charles Simic (Jackstraws)
[via it loved to happen]
