Precious Metals

there is no waste
in the sherds you collect
they rest on your table
in virtual comfort
 
[RK, 12/21/2020]


Periodic Table

you list feather keratin
calcium carbonate shells
listless smooth granite and
pocked pine driftwood
among your transition metals
 
visitors ohh and ahh with
uncomprehending honesty
afraid of giving too much away
you divert their adulation
[RK, 12/21/2020]

Against The Grain

milled planks of ebony, mahogany, cedar,
oak, spruce, and ash bang up against
weathered mangrove roots
bleached ironwood, impossibly smooth
driftwood       
                    and you notice how
the perfectly right-angled
rectangular four by four and
the knots, twists, and cork cambium of
the serpent/eagle/fish/star branch-limb
 
fit together, fall apart, fit
together fall
apart

[RK, 12/21/2020]