[John Riley]

Revision

Sinews

It's time to meditate with the dog
in his place, the timer set,
for even in meditation time counts,
and when the bell rings the notes
wrap around one another
the way sinews weave and snap until,
freed from their duty,
they are distracted threads waving in joy
at the illusion of being set free.
The notes sidle out of the room,
promising to return,
and my dog sighs for the chase,
the bones eaten,
and me, this poem willowing
on the walls of my closed eyes,
breathes in, breathes out, until


***


Sinews

It's time to meditate with the dog
in his place, the timer set,
for even in meditation time counts,
and when the bell rings the notes
wrap around one another
the way sinews weave and snap until,
freed from their duty,
they are distracted threads waving in joy
at the illusion of being set free.
The notes sidle out of the room,
promising to return,
and my dog sighs for he is full
of the chase and the want
of the bones eaten,
and me, this poem willowing
on the walls of my closed eyes,
breathes in, breathes out, until