How to Plant by the Signs

When the ground is lit

when your back, hands, intent are lit

full well

full dawn of dark

when the tide swells

(forget sea)

when the tide swells in soil unseen

root stem leaf

when the moon is in its age

plant that which rises

above the ground to bloom

full well

full fruit

in the old of the moon

When the sign is in the loins or breast

when the sign is in your feet

calloused (yes bare)

if what you wish is to harvest

if what you wish is to reap

grow the hour long

take the seed of secret

in your palm

spread it like a witness

spread it like a disease

This poem is from Render / An Apocalypse (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2013).