Kites

when I was young
came in only one shape--
classic diamond, Charlie Brown's kite
perpetually devoured by that evil tree! Now,

any week at Cannon Beach, the sky is filled with
dragons, box kites, bats, mantas, castle towers, mini-parasails--
strange, ungainly forms you wouldn't believe
could fly. All colors of the rainbow
ride the wind. Combat kites slice each other's strings
among banners, birds, and monster silhouettes.

In my heart
four white stars on a ground of black
swing low in the southern sky. The Southern Cross
unlike its swan-winged northern counterpart
has no center point, looks just like
Charlie Brown's kite flown from God's hand
above a world full of star-eating trees.

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside