Atropos

I.

On the river of no returns

The boatman points
To where Saturn ate his son

II.

Like all children
He was a coward

He died without complaint

III.

Feathered sirens churn the currents

The boatman says
Desnudas
And cackles

IV.

Goya, deaf from fever
Painted Maja two ways

The root of desire
Cannot be chopped

V.

Exalted temples
Promise rainwater feasts

Ecstasy hides
Beyond a prick of pain

VI.

Bearded seekers
Crowd the deck

Men with lamplight lives

VII.

The ferry glides
Through avernal mist

Torched black wood

On black, black river



Biodynamic

We only use grassfed milk from Salmon Arm.
The cows look splendid and proportionate.

A man and woman claim
All fiction is autofiction.
Tomorrow another first date
Litigates the criteria of natural wine.
Their successors get frothed up
Over Neil Young improvising the soundtrack.

We’re open for love unless stated otherwise.
Networks of farmers and producers
Depend upon your patronage.

This is polished concrete leisure
Unburdened by destination.

The menu reflects the seasons.
Day by day nothing happens
Until green returns like a chorus.

A bowl falls and doesn’t crack.
It’s a miracle to be gathered here.

We must address the rumours–
Yes, the cows dream of latte art.
Critical theorists and Zen practitioners
Cannot explain this with any known frameworks.



Under a Blue Duvet

under a blue duvet
the silence is astounding

every year
I try to stab late august

through its scaled back



____
Patrick Easton lives in North Vancouver, Canada. His works have been published by Midcult and Expat Press.