[Aaron Poochigian]

X

Illiteracy's scrawl, or learning's rune.
Marauders' crossbones, or St. Andrew's cross.
A promised cache of treasure, or the loss
of life-light from the eyes of a cartoon.

An unknown quantity. The standard scale
for clothing one more level large or small.
A player on the team that's lost the ball.
A rating given films beyond the pale.

The horizontal axis. V plus V.
The chromosome we all possess. A ray
our flesh is far too weak to turn away.
The crucial fragment of infinity.

A kiss goodbye. A rectified mistake.
And you. And I. Each other's, since our break.