RAMPACHE

a sense of beauty left, not to be contested. who had carried hide of lion to top of mountain shall rightfully witness mountain lion transformation. who had dragged sea lion back into ocean belly shall rightfully witness trained eternii stare of nature's costumed operators.

howls of pacific never heard

in

between rolling complaints of black and caspian sea, corrugated concerns transported on bullet train between baku and batumi, dispatched gushes of wind targeting

displaced regiments still fighting battles lost

in

sochi sukhumi gori lagodekhi, beauty left as promises; historical relativism washing up footnotes on next weeks beaches. beauty left as nature imago; droplet frozen in wool of lamb. beauty left as commodity; purchase at daybreak, bucket full of berries offered by inchanteuse singing old tongue.

lamenting brown paper bag poet failing reappearance

in

garagem bridging uplistikhe and borjomi, clear spring water speaking soft rock, exploded mountain over pastures glens and luscious riverbeds pregnant with juice for machinery.

witnessing image of 1800 year old princess fixed onto decommissioned apparatus in pawn shop back room left side. time corridor cordoned off, ghosts of men talking too much chalked up on rustaveli avenue. witnessing borders beginning in you, ponder jurisdiction, choose a stall in encirclement of toilets at trainstation in zugdidi; one part of you remembering pompeii, another formulating prayer

wanting the rest to be covered in ashes too