Shadows

The man forbade me to go out
He says I'm sick, not allowed
to get out of bed either.
I keep staring at the insignificant shadows in my room.

That's the word he uses
when he talks about me.
I think I know what it means

Shadows are insignificant in thickness
they don't exist in the air
they just cover the surface of things;
the grass, the street, the earth.
Ice creams dipped in chocolate.

Night is the biggest shadow I know.
The man says I'm scared to death of the night
but I know it's just a shadow
lying on the surface of things.

I know I'm right because
I can see the stars.

Confession (a poem)

He’s been walking for hours
selling bibles to hotel managers
up in Cabarete
he had seen a movie once
a little girl and her father sold bibles
with names on the cover
in-scripted in gold
women’s names
who’s husbands just died
“What do you mean he’s dead?
he just ordered this last week”
he remembered the women's faces
as they read their shiny names
Poetry.
Dusk was coming
not a bible had been sold
Holy words can be a burden to a weak man
he thought
wishing he had a daughter
a son, a dog.