I submerge in water with a body of mud. I emerge, light
–weight. Burning brightly. Red as clay. I sing a moth into alight

bulb. And the moon falls asleep. I’m naked in my mortalhunger.
I stay awake learning how fire gobbles up wood to perfectlight.

I wonder if the stars wither because they’re planted invapour &
dust. When the lantern’s eye runs out of oil, we gatherfireflies to light

it up. Once, in the laboratory, I seethed a sample of nightin a kettle
& hoped that its darkness evaporated. Once, I found aplethora of light

rays emitting from a dirge. It led me into a dark house.There, grandpa
stood before a concave mirror but the image formed was acandle light.