close is the only comfort we know

how close can you
get to the pelican
before it decides
to slip off
to another
bayou ..

how close can you get to the
mole
before it boroughs
another hole
and you're left there lookin' about ..

how close can you get to the
way your mind is going to perceive Egypt
or India
and never live up to the expectations
or exceed those expectations ..

how far can you push a lobster or crab
before they sink their claws
straight into your blood pulsing finger or arm ..

how long are going to marvel
at what should have been
if it would have been when it could have been
the way
we

all envisioned it
when
we were children,
naked after a good fuck,
following the first cigarette of the year,
the last drink of the evening
or the first hit of whatever gets you off the floor ..

how close can you
get ..

that's the
crux of what we do down here ..

go up next to it,
touch the crab
and
marvel at the blood,
dig with the mole

and fuck
with the best ..