you tell me to walk 
backward 

and forward 
simultaneously until 
there is no skeleton

when I ask you

what to look for

you say

you say it differently

for all and sundry

for one it is a cinder block

dropped on the head

of a caterpillar

for another it is a paper boat 
docked in the desert

of your cracked palm 


for yet another it is to count
scales on a dragon's back
without it waking

you say you must begin

by locating culture

it is there you

become impossibly

a lullaby, a lullaby

and crawl into my mouth

while I sleep

a wayward ladybug

confusing uvula

for light

whispering into darkness

impossibly, impossibly

someone searching in shadows

for someone found