still trying

And all of a sudden, one gets

so old. a blue crow wings its way

through my heart, butterflies flutter.

a native dancer places his hand

on my shoulder.  i try for a moment

to follow the beat,  or a pattern

unknown.  he chuckles and then
makes off into the woodlands, into
  the smoky morning with its

scent of comal y tortillas 
 floating back  through the mist
 of other mountains. Come now, 
befriend me. a chest heavy with loss,

 and the youngsters playing just out

beyond the dumping ground, oblivious

 to endings.