Brief tone poem for Jimmy P.

I’m thinking now

of the yen

of the

mind alone

and the product of mind:

thought

and that thought’s

children and grandchildren

and these thoughts’ lineages

crisscrossing

converging/diverging

children with

common mothers

branches

seeds

common soil

and I’m thinking now

of the yen

of the

mind alone

and mind’s tendency

to spawn

complexity

build structures

on backs

of other structures

columns in

trees

lines in leaves

tributaries

grids

lattices

networks

structures

complexity

and I’m thinking now

of the sounds

that punctuate

neural veins

thoughts that

sing

hum

buzz

whoosh

call

all from nothing

noise and then

silence, noise

and then silence

and nothing again

lesson in

these thoughts

about thoughts

bee honeycombs

ant networks

spiders’ spins

lesson in

these thoughts

about thoughts

about the webs

or ropes

that expand

and then tighten

that dazzle then

blind

lesson in

these thoughts

about thoughts

these delights

that stun

numb

stimulate

formulate

trap

deliver

and bring

no peace

**********

Angelo John Lewis

9/20/04: 3 am EST