Recollection of the Fortifications
as Daudet

The mill. Swathes of green and white and grey
that sting the horizon's edge. Stars caught
in tree branches. Parasol pines. A cool 14C.
Air winding the blades of wood spinning in stone.
Flock of birds making their way to Morocco.
Letters left on a desk, rattling. The crease
of the shutter (cedar) and of the window (arranged
nothing). Eucalyptus leaves circling the footpath
trying to get somewhere or lost. A place beyond
the mountains. Where a city wakes in a vale of steam,
scarves of smoke flung from chimneys, black carriages,
dull and dark geometries of buildings without signs.
Ink of India drying. Swirls of clouds paint sea
and land a mute hue of no color in particular.
What's behind the seams in the clouds: legions
of angels or whores of Babylon. Chiaroscuro
signature and the date: an etching of characters.