infinite by Phillip Klinger
The Stars
Missed Connections in Brooklyn
1
let the stars and the moon tumble
let the stars and the moon
fumble
but please reserve a place for
me
in the sky
11
i once stood upon a mountain top
that had a pool of
moonlight
and swam on my back
just another lap
in this bird bath
of dreams
and sometimes it seems that
the trees traded
places
like a chess game
at night
one move at a time before
the daylight
and when i awoke
lying in the
gutter
like a calf split in half
full of milk
that’s been
spilt
you blew through my
open windows
and i began
again
111
Casting the shadows aside i watched
the green grass collied with
the open
sky
and from there i could see everything
i’ve ever done, never done or
wanted
to do
and so i flew higher
into the orange
pink blue
because somehow
i knew
the sky lives
forever
Her Two Cents
The references to water, trees, and wind brought to mind one of my favorite Tarkovsky films, The Sacrifice. It’s a complex piece filled with strong visuals and stark language that communicates an underlying premise: the power to alter our own being or that of the collective is always ours. If you don’t believe in such things, look up and out to the ever-present sky and be absorbed by the infinite energy. It’s the closest thing to time and space travel you’ll ever experience.
