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Through the riverside thicket
I see a dim star, a distorted milky way
the deep behind it
the rough light won't make the water fade
all the factories have stopped blinking

If I can see my errors
in going to the store, and the emptiness
of all my hellos, all my
I'm doing well, all my worship exhausted
on the shore not yet licked smooth
why can't I step out of this path?

It rustles to fragment
it shivers to join the regimented maze
it leaves stones in my hand
that I picked from stems
and a marriage certificate
to be burned in the far corner of a parking lot

Through the winding of the water
I see the scarecrow in my clothes
signing check after check

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