These and All the Earthly Things

The primrose peace

Of a morning's hush

The strawberry spread

Of a baby's blush

A girl in an attic

Tied by a chain

Holding in hand

A corsage of pain

A precious song

Its opening chords

Notes that soar high

And leave one floored

A display of ribs

Like piano keys

A spherical stomach

And knobby knees

The steady blue gaze

Of a salty sea

A dog weaves through waves

In rose-colored glee

A mind growing moldy

And damp with delusion

Unanswered questions

A foregone conclusion

A star-scattered sky

Crocheted with clouds

Listening to

A love said aloud

Skin like parchment

On which letters were written

An old man grows lonely

Still achingly smitten

A day laced with laughter

And champagne bubbles

Excitement that dulls

And when night falls, doubles

An office where paper

Is pushed every day

Lets evil expire

To be filed away

A life dedicated

To an art or a cause

Not implicated 

By the sound of applause

A fabric of moments

That please and sting

I suppose these compose 

All the earthly things