What is it then
that Kent said he could see
in Lear’s countenance
he called it authority
to give it a name
though it is recognized
whenever seen or heard
whether it is staring
from the pupil
of the dead animal
or blocking the road
when the brakes have gone
or irreversible
in the doctor’s syllables
or in the headline or the fine
print or the waiting envelope
or surfacing in the mirror
it is there
whole untouched never
answering it is in
the sound of breathing
and in a voice
bird or human calling calling
it burns in the single
instant of pain
flashing its colors
it runs in the mind
of water and in
the dumbness of touch
in the only light
in the pace of nightfall