Who Embezzles Stars

Is the book
still king
on some other planet? Do inventions run

along parallel sun
rays? She asks
these questions without knowing

what to believe
anymore about the universe or red doors. Who

she might trust
to protect these poems
from shattering into weightless space debris

is who she might ask
to answer the rest.

Cold Knoll

If it’s truly darkest
before the dawn and you are
on the other side waiting to be

born, I will not hang
my head low
these long nights. Will dig

a flashlight
out of a dumpster
to shine a beam

on the word
trust

before it’s too late.