(musk)

The musk incense
cones do not seem
to burn,
at best erratically,
I do not know
why.
Perhaps because
I wrote about
them,
described their
life down to the
ashes.
Is it paralysis
of observation
that makes
them feel,
like the centipede,
when asked
how he does it,
unable to walk.
The way my own
observed life
sometimes lurches
toward silence
to protect itself
from its own
analysis.
I feel best
when I sneak up
on things, or
they on me –
before they find
their way
to a list,
so they are done
before they can
become
a to do.

2/2/99