The Poetry of Mark Daniel Milbocker 
Joining the Heard

Words linger circling the ears
like soft tornadoes of wondering
moans escaping from the edge of
probabilities burning in the apse
of our shared cathedral cut to
book-matched panels of vaulted
grain rubbing against our 
newborn peached dreams sprouting
from whirligig thoughts let loose
from a rock maple heart lying
back into the autumn blonde 
that wanes to darker hues as 
winged attention passes beyond
the veil of focus to find
shadows that have no use of color
ringed shapes expanding upon the
tympanic pond miming your suggestions
with fire work and the gentle
baptism of cerebrospinal fluid caught 
in the moon's tidal ebb contemplating
what was meant by it all or whether
it was for me or just mountain giants 
trading thunder and prophets murmuring
to themselves of messianic intelligences
in fervid debate waiting for stone
soup answers to cast before the horde
and I left humming a peculiar melody
of vowels poured upon themselves in
softserve assonance without the 
syncopated crunch of gutturals 
refracting movement into meaning

To tarry in the fairyland
of pondering the gilding of gifts
poured into metaphors melodic, 
unwrapped into an inner monologue
lost to tangents to be traveled 
while hidden inside it all 
love is skipped across the abyss
from thee to me and all of we
agape for popcorn morsels of
insight unpeeled and hungrily
swallowed warm and still steaming
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