Comprehension

Understanding the world
is like dissecting a moth.
I have to carry fire
to the pit
and pretend no one
is watching us
through the thicket of trees
and torn plastic Walgreen's
bags. Even then, eyes
catch the moths and I
sitting in the dusk,
sipping embers.

I'm trying to understand
engineering with a fire
and cat.

So I sit with a tabby
and moths dive from crow's
nests and loop through the flames.
Lighting like vigil
candles, I grab one
from the air and the cat
snatches with his fangs.
Soot smears our lips

And I pretend to know
engineering, grasping make-up
instead.

I had fun writing this once I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I read through several poems from Ruefle so I could get her voice and thoughts. I think it helped to let my voice sort of know how to use hers, if that makes any sense. It feels like something of mine, made from another person's thought, or something like that. It was fum, anyway, and I think I'll include it in my packet.