Dooont speak my dahling
whispers Garbo into his ear
as she autographs his conscience with a fine point pen
and then he’s
off to the races just another country bumpkin
in search of lost gold and
treasure which is not buried
but the opposite

moles are digging up to find
archaeologists examining the dirt
but as soon as they get above ground
they turn back
their eyes too blind to take in the sunlight radiating
from the traffic lights
and they go back down

not that there’s any reason to stay and fight
better to live than die is what they always say isn’t it?
because if it is then he ran with justice didn’t he?

because treasure is what he’s after whether that’s
a reflection of some promised land
a pretty postcard of sedition
that wasn’t on the rack next to Dante’s Third and Monte Cristo
but is still one of Hallmark’s new favorites

or maybe it’s something else entirely

he’s lost you know without her j
ust a crow looking for a nest that doesn’t exist
flying but always with a purpose
even if it’s a purposeless purpose

but he fights on and on even if
she’s just a whisper in the wind
just a dove on top of Mt. Olympus
she’s still a story he can tell the pillow of his sleeping bag every night
and then wash its confusion with his tears and heartache

he must take the advice that Greta Garbo gave him
concerning finding said true love
that he must come outside have a Gauloise
and stop worrying

but to worry is a compulsive habit
a tireless profession
and when there’s nothing left
there’s always something to do
on another track completely
the problem is that this track is endless
as if traveling at such a speed that the sun never quite sets
just reminds us of a golden egg being born from the duck of the earth

here’s the problem with his heartstains
the Biblical love had it all wrong
they taught that when God created her from Adam’s rib
he replaced the rib and all was good
that they were all together and happy yadadee yadada

But the truth of the matter was that when God took
Adam’s rib to make her he never replaced it
there’s a gap in the defense surrounding his heart
there’s a direct path susceptible to beestings and heartstings alike

the other issue is that in fact the rib he needs he wants it
back only if he finds her can his heart be mended
can his body be complete
can his mindsoul be something more resilient than a
clay pot being dropped from great heights
and may it be turned to rubber before it hits the ground

and if he can’t find her

but no there isn’t even that thought
there is only moving
there is only fleeing
there is only seeking non-buried treasure
upon the back of a flying porpoise
and if he doesn’t find her

better to die than live is what they always say isn’t it?
for then he would run with justice
and flick around the rack for another postcard.