M. Anne Sweet 


THE UNFOUND DOOR

"looking for a stone, a leaf  
an unfound door." 

Autobiography, Lawrence Ferlinghetti

In the shadow of bell hollows 
my goat throat bahs Allah. 
Prism trees chrome the crooked path. 
I kneel, my forehead touching east. 
Yahweh snuffs my hair, my clothes. 
Nostril to nostril, we gather scent. 

In lupine and salmon berries 
I nibble nettle fruit. 
Jehovah's thorn stings my side. 
Through brambles I follow a she-goat. 
She hides from me, her small hooves 
cut trails narrow and false. 

In a clearing, 
at a table empty and wide, 
God leans full weight before me. 
He reads me rhymes of menued verse. 
He drinks deli dregs, 
my blood steamed in a wax paper cup. 
His mustard cuts my breath. 

Across threshold uneven rock, 
Buddha buds in lotus lilies. 
I wade his crib shallow riverbed. 
In pond cress walking on water 
I flower, pollen tufted, 
and rub the legs of bees. 
 

Copyright 2000, M. Anne Sweet 

M. Anne Sweet has read extensively throughout the Puget Sound area. She organizes a reading series called Passion for Poetry and is a past member of the board of the Washington Poets Association. Her poetry has appeared in The Seattle Five Plus One: Poetry (Pig Iron Press, 1995), as well as many journals and anthologies, both in print and on-line. Her performance poem, "Overture and Fugue," has been performed by The Peoples' Theatre.