9/26/91- Cold, Deep Water

                                               9/26/91-10/5/91
                                                LA-Nagoya
 
             Cold,Deep Water
 
 
         To love the unobtainable
         Gentle layers of crisp linen around the heart
         Extensions of diseased perfectionism
         Will not touch this pure ideal.
 
         To dabble with the available
         Wrinkled by first contact,never held again
         By the same smile,warming the center no more
         Perverted by my own participation.
 
         Contrast shifts,colors and conditions flip
         Negative exposures see light
         From a quickly opened door
         Hinged on perspective
 
         To write on either side
         Of a body of cold,deep water
         One actual,one self appointed
         Both so far from the center
         Shows me that I can be warmed and not burned
         That pain can make me love stronger
         And the flicker of a flame
         Will not burn the world to the ground.