nostrum

by Peter Schwartz

love has no watermark
toys of chance and belonging
play by the seawall

the psychology of exits
penetrates our movements
like antiseptic;
an aquarium

filled with tomorrow’s pills
floats past our ears; we are
forever’s little mascots
mummified

at any minute
by two handfuls
of nothing.

–

mr. widowhood
walks the streets; tries to corner
the rain with vulnerability
but suddenly

falls silent to his blueprints
these are lyrical flaws; the young
and old counting and comparing
what is shelved

to see who will ultimately
rule the shadows where
everything flashes

like prehistoric fish
through a kind of traffic
we are only just beginning
to understand.

–

we make conversation
with postcards; wear jewelery at the
very edge of becoming

pack two small coffins
one with peaches; the
other with etiquette

because this is a green
audition, darkened (again)
with lyrical flaws

our wardens respond
only with the great
synonymous.

–

these weathered words
will pay for a secondhand rose
or be canceled out like clocks

as forever’s little mascots
make braver and braver
masks; O great

green veranda!

after all this there will
be soap and flowers.