Sleeping & Waking Octet

                        for Sandy

dried blush roses kept in a nightstand vase, blue

& white quilted bedspread, windows sloped to catch

the moon’s reflection of the white rose blooming

by the porch where the cat shuts its lunar eyes,

where bamboo chimes lend night a tongue; the alarm

clock’s chimes, aluminum birds singing in a

breeze, the one spinning holographs into flesh

here at the intersection of dreams & hands

Jack Hayes

© 2017