In my dream, 


  a map of the 


  universe was 


  laid out.


  It was a 


  network 


  of pipes. 


  Paradise 


  was a tank


  at the center.
Claire Klee, a neighbor,
rarely made eye contact.
Her face had a dull red scar
on the left half. Jay painted
the scar and her face
from different angles. Thin threads
strung from her face to his heart.
I resented her burnt face.
But I video taped it
and watched it transform into pixels.
Tiny grains of color glittered,
becoming her cheekbones and eyebrows.
Her son was in prison.
She always seemed scared.
Claire 		Karen Black
lived next door
to Jay and
scowled at me.
I started
taping her
on 8mm
and then 16mm.


Karen Black
The beauty of Karen's
face agitated the Ohio
light that fell on it.
Her face looked different
every time you looked at her.
She was obese and intelligent.
I was afraid of making a lattice work of lies but Jay robbed me of this fear. We saw each other's monstrosities and loved each other anyway. Then, Redemption. Even though our love diminished, my fear is gone. I'm not happy about it. It's a theft. I want it back. My mind, my staff of life, is leaning against the door of a house I can't leave.