In the well of his eyes

a songbird drowning,

his last note shaking

the earth like an aftershock

Carrying a cane,

he mocks old age

and then beats him with it.

The various compounds in his

organs like chasms of

darkness sewn up into life.

In his neighborhood

the children shirk their

playful duties

break all the rules of youth

by filing taxes

and reading Schopenhauer.

In the bushes,

a sharpened surprise

awaits him.