The Question of the Soul ~ Katharine Coles

 

Birdsong.  Oboe’s
Breath.  Wind in the eaves, voice

Of the sparrow someone says
Is five notes I can’t count.  Does

The mind breathe or
My lungs.  Throb or

Heart, awash.  Electric,
Stricken, it casts

Itself at the air.  Beats
And will not

Fly.  Wherever might
It go?  Dreaming mind caught

Again in the leaves.
Don’t look down, I know, keep

Paddling, feeling
Pulse as glee.  Moonlight too

Is all the moon’s
Sleight of hand, its sly

Deception. A window.  Eye
Falls on me.