MOUNTAIN VALLEY

as we come to darkness    on the valley floor we see light
rocks    deep as the sky
suddenly snap like a dangerous staircase
timid fingers bent toward the violent stars weep
turn us into cripples
or deceive our eyes

when light becomes a creature    we are dead
these tiny squirming bodies
drill holes into us    shining
moonlight falling as though spreadeagled
a city lying on a bed overgrown with illusion
reading a dark book    its cover the ocean
its back    the sound of wild animals’ hooves on mud
pitfalls    when you think of it, are always underfoot
once distance has vanished    we touch a bright red rivulet
wrinkled with stones    exhibiting every terror that ever was