man and beast

on a mute television screen, a chase, pistols and cowboy hats:
the dusk creeps out through a crack in the blinds. in its place
shuffles in the deathly night. now
watch them run in black and white. now
watch them burn.

the turning of a bedpost, the unhanding of a cane:
grandma's fall's broken by persian red.
all news is bad news
and the presses never stop. here,
the dust settles on empty beds and whirring clocks.