FOLDED SKY

death is the edge of a knife

death is the edge of a knife
that does not blunt
it
chamfers negative
space
to
a
point of departure.
Indivisible

death is the edge of the day’s end
strobing once
the edgeless
flicker

from a distance
obtuseness grows prickly
sharpness is no more than perspective
a mountain ridge from a plane window is ginsu knife-serrated
electron microscoped dust mite mandible a scimitar
a mote
point

the shortest distance between birth
and death is a pressing
down
per square inch
tons per square micron
per square angstrom
stiletto

there is a six inch spider in the Sahara
that numbs the flesh
while you sleep then eats you alive
nose half gone
one cheek
etc.

death is the edge of a knife
that does not blunt
the pain
it hones
each life down
to moments
to
a
point
of imminent departure


by Michael Hale (2004)