because I neglected to look
at the illustration when I would have been
instructed I imagined
the image instead and what I saw
was alive
itself
there was no shelf, no wall, and the green
was green and the yellow was yellow and there
were eyes, I knew
a different bird and a different boy
because I skipped this instance like a stone skips
over water
oh, I have not become accustomed
to headlights and sirens
still bring an odd relief that I need not respond
because I neglected to respond
what’s gone is not gone
but is somewhere inaccessible
this brightness must dissemble
because I grasp like a reproduction of the
original
like a stone, yellow and green
like a different boy and a bird
like sirens (you decide what kind)
calling
