Bride of the Somnambulist

        The night broiler regurgitates its rugged stars
        As the somnambulist terminates
        The calligraphy of their descent
        Closing his eyes.  His footsteps echo
        Between systems of buildings,
        Simplifying the sound of his complex retreat.
        To him, you are a vasectomy,
        Liable to hypnotize the appeal of his prefecture;
        A breakdown of familiar passages;
        A deliriously permanent answer
        To the falling sky.


previously published in "These Poems Are Not Pretty,"
poems by Jan McLaughlin and Bruce Weber,
Palmetto Press, Miami, 1992.
Paperback.  $7 includes postage.