Around the Shores of the Tongue

From the stage their heads are islands
among the nicotine haze.
In front of the mic the poet struggles
with a math of words
around the shores of the tongue.

The tongue dips
in the pigment of language.
Lungs bellow. Lips part.
The café is the canvas.

Now is defined by a hush.
Eyes shift from conversations.
The windows of a hundred ears open.
With a cleansing breathe his poem

explodes. It's all a whirl, a harvest
as the gathered seek something useful.
A moment of truth, pathos, irony. Instead

They find heartbreak. Secrets. Arduous
Words that make the unseen visible.

The way smoke
form a dying cigarette
Makes the air dance.