An omen or a marvel or portent,
a wondrous moment that will sometimes come
while dozing on the red-eye to LA,
crawling through a crack to fly beside
like a swift at twilight knowing when
to go to nest.
A semblance or a vestige, negative
sometimes, as in no sign of life, but sometimes
caught off guard by tenderness, to tiptoe
past that uninvited guest, which
like firewood, makes a gift of surplus, the fragrance
of the living.
A trail or trace of animals, how illnesses
present themselves, a mark of ownership
or attestation, written, stamped, or sealed,
a way to give direction, call attention
to a shop, the muscle and the substance
of remembering.
A gesture that conveys idea or sometimes
intimation, a symbol as in calculus,
chemistry, or musical notation,
an outward sign of inward grace, a way
to speak, to make a sign, to give a sign,
something understood.
