A man lays his hand on a woman. He sees through
her eyes the golden-breasted songbird. The woman looks
on the man and she thinks he will die. They wash, comb
and perfume their hair; together they put on their clothes.
Side by side they slip out from under sheltering trees;
behind them a gate clicks shut. Where a river goes after it
falls from a ledge into a cavern the man and woman can
only guess, but in time they might see everything there is
to see. A winged beetle whirs away as human thoughts
slide under its carapace.
