For Charles Simic

A heart that resembles a cave,
a throat of shavings, 
an arm with no end and no beginning:

How about that telephone?
—Not yet.

The cave in your skull,
a throat with a crack in it.
a heart that still resembles a cave:

How about the knife?
—Later.

The fire in the cave of your skull,
a beast who died shaving,
a cave with no end and no beginning:

A big ship!
—Shut up.

Instructions which ask you to burn other instructions,
a circle with a crack in it,
a stone with an arm:

A hat?
—Not the hat.

A ship with a knife in it,
a telephone with a hat over it,
a cave with a heart:

The Stone Age?
—There is no end to it.