Outsider

 The art I make glimmers
and glows from a space
where embers of the soul
shimmer at the edge of each night.

The brush of an eyelash against the sky
or the rush of the wind under the wings
of a frightened bird
are enough to bring life
to this page.

I stand before you,
an outsider,
and watch the sun setting
on this day.  I gather the light
into my hands and stir it with starlight
praying for the  nothingness
to overtake me
and let me step
away from the illusion
of all these words.

I am the stranger
to so many
who will not see me
even when they stare at me
in the mirror.
Even when they learn my name
they soon forget what it is
and fall asleep
as if there were endless
exhalations
after breathing in.