You're gone,
but I am still comforted
by your warmth.

You're gone,
but I am still safe;
for you have taught me,
how to find refuge
                                 in myself.

Afterwords, I stuff
myself back
within myself--

pleated coils bending
like knees,
with ease,
like they've been on
tippy toes too long--

A too flexible and
overly sensitive
jack in a box:

One whose chest gets too
excited at the turn
of a handlefull of gears
until the lid
pops off

I have tattoos without ink
White and filled with scar tissue
Just as beautiful as can be

a body
of
stories

WHAT WAS IT ?

I wandered near the sea and looked
At what could calm my nerves and mind.
The sea was calm, the skyline great,
But my lost aim l could not find.

The sea could mean a lot to me
With its low waves and endless view,
But on that day, l could not see
The beauty lain in waves or hue.

I found no reason for my mood.
Nothing was wrong; the day was bright.
All around me was nice and good
But could not make me feel all right.

My heart was missing something odd
Which l felt deeply in my heart.
I could not meet it in this world
Or even just imagine what.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

are u there in the woods
gypsy guitar dancing to
the campfire strumming
of ur **** guitar; a girl
wholly leaping over the
flames; the war no mindful
thing for the Jewish women
running in black garters
being chased & beaten
****** by small boys w/
metal & long sharp sticks