House of Sand
for Reina A. Prado

i.
so that's how he'd gotten
into those high circles, sissying

how to get over
sell your body, sell your soul

no other way to hold an Oscar, an Obie
must embrace forbidden sex

a man in a man's arms, in a man's bed
having intercourse
the wrong way around

ii.
has he kept himself
for a moment like this
for a day like today

I asked, has he, as well, I ask, has she

along comes the time
for making love

iii
each relationship is a bond to test,
to tug at

lovers or siblings
or parents and children
pets and those who keep them

whatever attachment to tug at
see what it/what they could withstand

water, wind, time, will
pulling in different/
in opposite directions

iv.
what delicious things reunions are

v.
the ways to make love
other than sexually
are so many

endlessly, endlessly
these variations upon a theme

vi.
what do you want
in exchange for salt

only salt would do as a substitute

for salt in exchange for salt
he had to wait a long time
more than a decade
amid the shifting desert sands

reciprocity finally came
it was breathtaking
it was like a dream

worth the wait
every minute of it
every week, every day

it was worth the decade
what they got, what they gave

vii.
was Christ tacked up
like a notice upon a notice board
until taken down
until the event ended

in the stories
of his removal from the cross
though there is graphic detail
about nails being driven in

I recall no detail about them
being extracted, about the tacks
being taken out

he could not, like a notice
upon a notice board
having passed usefulness, useful date
been ripped off, ripped down

no word though
nor are there paintings or sculptures
of hammer, crowbar or whatever

wrenching nails from wood
from hands, from feet


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2008
12 a.m. 25.07.08