Shishi-mai

This morning
I was bit by a lion.
It came up to me
on the street
and requested I
offer my head
to its massive mouth.
I did--
as I often do--
trusting such moments
will inspire, purify or bless:
those dreamy illogicals.

Then the lion bit me
just above my brow.
And in the moment
when its teeth were bared
and its breath had yet
filled with my blood,
I looked into its throat
and saw a young woman
standing there, smiling
as they do
with enough hope to promise
an easing of some
of my pain.



by jerry gordon
8.1.2014
Shishi-mai

Cat?

Years ago,
before I was
who I am,
I was
sitting in a well
tended garden,
watching a cat
relaxing.

It was winter.
It was sunny.
The cat was curled
on a bright walkway,
not near enough
or too far.

I got up to see
the cat more clearly.
Maybe touch
its flow of fur.
I approached, but then
the cat exploded,
becoming
a dozen departing
sparrows.

Even the sun
didn't remain
long after that.


by jerry gordon
for Coline
11.19.2014

Alley

Outside
the back alley
electric store,
a man exhales
his ghost.

In front of him,
it floats in the mix
of night and light,
forming before being
dispersed by my
black bike.



by jerry gordon
12.30.2014

Moon Night

The moon gave glimpses
through the city's beauty
tonight: A roofline.
A canyon between buildings.
A sky of windows
shining like gravity pulls
pixels down a screen.

The moon moved
with me and my lover,
nodding with our promise
to remember
the night arises
beautiful
between vanishings.


by
jerry gordon
3.25.2015
w/ R