cave painting 
coursing through your blood
a suicide

albino crocodiles peer back
through the swamp of time 


below a thick canopy
an orchid feeding 
off other plants

a jar of soil saved
from the old country


smashed lenses
a pack of wolves
lead the way

faint flames 
in the eye of a raven 
who snatched the sun


after the meal
the children find god

no way to rinse off
the unwanted touch
of his hand


recidivism 
you put the candle out  

memories fade
in a hall of rock and sand
dusk falls early


Michael O'Brien
Clayton Beach