Starmutation

Stepping, swinging, listening to a subtler way
soft and somber like white flowers in September
coming together and all at once
sweet autumn clematis, boneset seeds
shifting stems in salient breeze

Three solemn strangers cross the stream
to speak the same split-tongue as my father
the s’s stop here, the snake dies at his name
changes skin, moves to another dusty stage

A new light on an orange ladder
I dreamt of riding a blue whale
and then again, all at once
a sudden, sharp exhale