P oetry R epair S hop (1999.08: 087)
- CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POETRY
- by new, emerging, and established poets

STEVE CROSS
Night and Day

The lake seems dead,
The wan moon, thin
and brittle as
bones,
and a splattering of stars
illumine
its oily black slumbering --
stagnant as stool,
its stench, a thick haze
hanging on the air.

Luminous fish dart within
its depths
until swallowed by
sea monsters
slithering through
shadows.

Currents twist and turn,
tangle together and
sweep trash to the bottom
which opens like a mouth
and sucks it down jagged
chasms.

Poem copyright 1999; all rights reserved. (If you desire a copy of this poem, please contact the AUTHOR).