"We Are Floating"

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is my poem "We Are Floating":

We Are Floating

We are floating
up like a Chagall,
I think I see
you laughing: the wet
velvet interior of
your mouth. I try
to tell you not to
be afraid as we hear
a howl like the
wind or a
wolf or a
train going to
Santa Fe. “Close
your eyes,” I say,
“it will help the
nausea. Earth is
never far away. Earth
is alive.” I
want to grow to love
you and miss you
terribly when you
go away. Let
me touch your lips,
I know they’re there.
What do we think
we’re doing? We are
on a pilgrimage like
devotees to the Bodhi Tree,
like sleep walking,
like breathing under water.
“Now open your eyes and
step out onto
nothing. This is
our dream. They
can’t find us.”

©JEF 1988