The women in my family live a long time
but the men die young.

So I'd best get on with it:
with finding the next big thing,
the thing I would be known for,
the words I have waited to hear me say…

Of course the day intervenes:
boxcars along the highway,
where the sun spent the night,
that first breast felt in the woods,
all the various reasons to be
vegetarian.

It's like pulling thread from a cocoon,
winding it round and round a spindle.

After I have paid for my monthly parking,
I will tell you again about
the stop sign in the middle of the ocean.