19 February 2017

Decussate leaves
x their way up
stems, like crossed oars,
oars at rest, oars
between active use.

Then, to blossom,
oars un x,
reshape into an eleven,
spread wide, like the arms
of a draftsman’s compass,

and with shallow draft
set in motion the craft
to depths of engagement,
the circumference of which
proves immeasurable.

Philip Kuepper
(13 February 2017)