The night I torched the lifeguard station

The sky fell over itself
                              tripped up by a cloud
              or a guitar string

& I was staggering beneath that weight
like a leather bound volume of cracked concrete
buckling your knees

                              the long way across the sand

the silver shimmering out there in pieces you
                                                can string together & wear on your wrist

a shadow among shadows
beneath a miniature bamboo umbrella
              w/bruised knuckles & a book of matches

My heart all shattered by this & other things I’m
sure I’ve forgotten by now
                              the sting of euphoria
                                                                them dark stars these
                              ragged flowers
                                                                                    spell death in Cantonese
                                                                when no one’s looking

              Reason enough for the Jesuit resolve
                                                like haze to powder the dark beach sky
                              so given to cold
                                                                                  sapphire flames