Because it all just breaks apart, and the pieces scatter and rearrange without much fanfare or notice.

Because you can¡¯t and don¡¯t remember the step that kicked up dust and left this planet¡ªyou¡¯d give up even more now.

Because the body itself¡ªthe heart¡¯s

not dead but deeper, wrapped up in curtains, a different color, among the railings and the pigeons, the rooftops and walls¡ª

for all you know it¡¯s a question of bread

or beer.

Because even love

returns. The city¡¯s all brightness

and shadow, deckle-edged, bluer than air¡ªthere's no help anywhere¡ªyou no longer know how to listen.

And love says, love¡ªmidnight to midnight,

already ablaze. And the boulevard¡ªwide-open. And the well- stocked crowdless market, and a lone taxi blears.

Even happiness¡ªthe way anger¡¯s come back to roost again. And joy, though joy¡¯s not in the ear or the eye. On this walk.

The gulls hover offshore and the islands are speckled with fire.

Even love, even because.