the journey of descent

toenail parings
a candle with words
hole in a steel door
patched with pink duct tape
out in the world
trail of solitary choices
follow the score
of sev'ral losing games

Hope never dies.

" '...Where were you born, Cale?"

'America.'

'As I thought. America One or America Two?'

'I never could get straight on that. I think it must have been somewhere in between.' "

--Steve Erickson, Rubicon Beach (1986)