Belles Lettres

Consider the leaves of the young
lime tree 
          which drop by the handful
in heat after being assaulted by rain;
and consider 
             the idiom of moths depositing
eggs in the crevices of plants
in order for the worms 
                       to multiply among
the green. If it is so much work
to stay alive
              how much harder is it to writhe
free of this palimpsest in order to become
a shade 
        in the underworld? The air
at sundown, caul still humid
from the fire we burn
                       inside us:
each one wanting to write just one 
more beautiful book.