Material Witness

by Kathy Boles-Turner

Into the blank bottomless,
fissure. Dogmatic — staring,
waiting-waiting-waiting
for sounds to emerge,
or prophetic images. Or ravenous
beasts horned and winged.
Great snarling beasts whose
existence depends upon
intuition, or grief.
Or the simplest of reasoning.

Translation

by Kathy Boles-Turner

Tone is what draws the pictures.
Pictures are necessary

for drawing conclusions

… in order to make connections.

I require connections.
Irrelevant details dishevel thought processes
otherwise.

Tone is vital.

Printed words oblige.

Conjured images file away at random
… available for recall on a whim
or
during the worst of trials.

In their absence, I would form no words of my own.

In Pursuit

by Kathy Boles-Turner

Of sprawling breadth and indeterminable length,
the road is vast, open, colorless -
scarred by false starts and faithless retreats.
Checkpoints blur against a blank horizon,
facing north, south, east and west -
those places frighten me.
I must provide proof of my intent;
all qualifications must be presented
for validation.