from Eleven Clues

Robert Kendall

7.

It's larger than life. Or rather,
bigger than the box life comes in
before it's assembled. Watch closely.
It's the color of trying to see,
so it blends into each look.
It's the shape of the mind and fits
perfectly into whatever you're thinking,
no matter how embarrassing the inner decorating.
Just about grasped it? Well,
it has the feel of almost touching,
so you'll never know when it's in your hands, despite . . .
don't drop it for God's sake.

Let's try again, and pay attention this time.
The trick is to deceive appearances.
Look things in the face value
while you get their drift under the table.
Get your feelings to trust you
so they'll slip you past the facade.
Then when nobody's looking,
flip to your soul's last page
to feel the outcome. Not that one,
the page that never manages to get written.
OK, once more from the beginning . . .

The 2River View, 2_1 (Fall 1997)