BACKGROUNDS

He watches her change backgrounds

from the flat bottom ravines of his own shadows.

He sees that she is at home in her nature.

She sheds her imageries as easily

as the deer shed their mohogney coats.

He feels her searching for refuge.

She dresses in nights black curtain trimmed with diamonds,

or in crystals of shimmering blue.

He learns of her as she choses her adornments.

She cloths herself in stained glass,

or in the shirttales of a summer's cloud.

He knows she is veiling her heart.

She is but a child cloaked in the morning's dawn.

She speaks more clearly with moving walls

than she does with spoken word.

He concedes she is not completely attired

but continues to admire the vestments

of her soul.