GAME

I navigate against the current.
When the rest are coming back, I’m setting out.

Before taking thought, I think it over.
I weep and smile in silence
and alone.

I seek the ring I lost
in a region of light and well-being.

Tutto ch’altrui aggrada me disgrada.

When I can, I differ.
For example:
I don’t say “prickly pear”
but “opuntia”.

And to lose a living
I work on Sundays.

Moribund I’ll celebrate
— should the family permit,
and the other powers —
my birth.