and the French
why do the French
say nature morte
when the whole
idea is the life
in stillness
not decorative arrangments
fruit or flowers
but things objects
moved and left
dishes on the table
glasses half-filled
brooms against the wall
yes brooms
do you remember
that morning in Ohio
the attic room
the clock radio
woke you at six
and the light
on the brooms
against the wall
suddenly
the thingness of things
nothing else not
Mike in bed
drunk his face
to the wall
only the sun
eyes brooms
everything
quiet still
alive