the art and the man

the art and the man
superfluous
ingenious
tedious
doubtful and true
over the marauding freeway
looking not for exits but the horizon:

the art and the man (or woman)
the woman and the man (or the art)
blank testaments to poetry
death
salvation

the calculated air
of gravity
over your scream into the unfeeling night
my arm over your mouth
pressed in tight
to wait for the people to pass

the last days together
before dawn