Tone

1

Hoping my face shows the pleasure I felt, I'm
smiling languidly. Acting. To put your mind
at rest - how odd! At first we loved because
we startled one another


2

Not pleased to see the
rubber band, chapstick, tin-
foil, this pen, things
made for our use

But the bouquet you made
of doorknobs, long nails for
their stems    sometimes
brings happiness


3

Is it bourgeois to dwell on nuance? Or effeminate?
Or should we attend to it the way a careful animal
sniffs the wind?


4

Say the tone of an afternooon

Kindly but sad

"The ark of the ache of it"

12 doorsteps per block


5

In the suburbs butterflies
still spiral up the breeze
like a drawing of weightlessness.
To enter into this spirit!
But Mama's saying she's alright
"as far as breathing and all that"


6

When you're late I turn slavish, listen hard for
your footstep. Sound that represents the end of
lack


-- Rae Armantrout